


Okonomiyaki Summer Wars

by DeliciousGears



Category: Ranma 1/2, うる星やつら | Urusei Yatsura
Genre: Beach Holidays, F/F, Okonomiyaki, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-03-06 20:44:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 38,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13419291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeliciousGears/pseuds/DeliciousGears
Summary: For the first time, Ryuunosuke gets to run the Hamachaya tea shop that she was trained all her life for. But next door to her comes the beautiful yet dangerous Ukyou Kuonji, who quickly becomes rivals with her. The waves on the beach roar as these rivals clash, pulling in all their friends along for the ride!





	1. DAY ONE: The Eve of War

The waves roared as they clashed against the high walls of the Mendou villa, spraying water and white foam upwards. As the waves raged, a cool wind blew, shaking the trees and ferns that sat along the edge of the balcony that extended out into the water. As the red sun sank towards the horizon, it glowed a warm orange, colouring the sky around it with the same shade.

Shutarou Mendou gazed down at the green-haired beauty that stood before him, wrapped in a yellow shawl of the finest silk that he had given her. He made sure that the shawl’s silk was fine enough that it did nothing to hide the young woman’s captivating curves.

“Lum-san…”

Somewhere in the distance, there was an insistent crunching sound. It might have been some poor soul trudging through the sands of the beach below. Or maybe someone walking among the gravelled front yard. Shutarou didn’t really know. Or even care.

“I have something to tell you.” His gaze became more intense, utterly focused on Lum.

“What is it, Shutarou?” Lum met his gaze, her blue eyes deep and unbounding, full of promise.

“I invited you here to spend the summer with me, did I not?”

“Of course, Shutarou!” Lum smiled brightly.

And when I did,” Shutarou said, “I only gave you that invitation. Just one. Nobody else. Am I remembering this correctly?”

“Yeah?” Lum’s smile faded, but her eyes were still wide and expectant.

“Well, if you and I agree that is the case,” Shutarou said, his eye twitching, “then what is _he_ doing here?” He lifted a hand to point at a spot just behind Lum.

So Lum turned around, and saw Mr. Fujinami standing right behind her, wearing his usual long johns. In fact, the man was practically so close behind her that when she turned around, they were practically nose to nose. He was staring down at her with the kind of look that could curdle milk, which is to say, his usual expression when out and about.

There was nothing but silence for a long moment, save for the crunching sound growing louder.

Then Lum shrieked in fright, and leapt into the air. As she rose, she launched forth a torrent of lightning at Mr. Fujinami, sending Shutarou skittering backward to safety. It was the kind of dose that would probably leave even her Darling Ataru unconscious for several minutes.

Mr. Fujinami was still standing after the lightning stopped, his face and clothes charred and blackened from Lum’s divine retribution. “How dare you,” he said, emitting plumes of smoke from his mouth, “how dare you victimise a defenceless old man…”

“A _defenceless old man_?!” Shutarou said, aghast. “You invade my family property, you invade my guest’s personal space, and now you dare to play the victim?!”

“How dare you accuse me of invading your property!” Mr. Fujinami’s face twisted into a rictus of rage. “I was invited here, just as everyone else was!”

“I didn’t even invite you!” Shutarou said. “I didn’t even consider inviting you! The only person I gave a formal invitation to was Lum-san!”

Lum turned away as Shutarou and Mr. Fujinami started to argue with each other. She noticed Ataru standing beside her now, in swimshorts and a hoodie, crunching on a stick of celery. “It’s such a shame Shutarou’s really upset now. I thought he would be really be happy being out here for the summer.”

“Maybe he’s just upset that he can’t get you alone?” Ataru replied, mouth full of celery.

Shutarou twitched at Ataru’s words. His fingers clenched and unclenched, craving to grasp the hilt of his katana. Tragically, he had left it at home. His father had told him that commoners didn’t brandish weapons in public anymore, and he needed to not resort to violence at any given opportunity.

While Shutarou sank into despair on the balcony and Ataru finished his celery, Lum turned and walked back into the villa. The main living room was buzzing with activity: Shinobu sat on a couch, chatting with Ran and Sakura. Nagisa was in the kitchen, chopping up vegetables for yakisoba tonight. And Ryuunosuke was sitting in a papasan chair by a window that gave her a good view of the sunset, staring out in quiet contemplation.

Lum peered over the top of Ryuunosuke’s chair, watching the stern look on the young woman’s face. “Are you okay, Ryuunosuke? You look like you’re down in the dumps this evening.” She looked briefly at the others, all doing their own thing. Shinobu giggled at a story Ran was telling her. Nagisa was done julienning the carrots. Sakura just seemed to be content by herself. “Why aren’t you doing something with the others?”

“Don’t feel like it,” Ryuunosuke replied. “I would probably just get in the way.”

Lum’s brows furrowed, and she leaned on the chair with crossed arms, hanging over the back. “Nobody here thinks that of you. I’m pretty sure you know that, too.” She tilted her head slightly. “Is it because of your dad being here? Because I had no idea he was tagging along.”

As if on cue, Mr. Fujinami strode on in the living room, heading right towards Lum and Ryuunosuke. “I was invited, of course! Didn’t you get that through your thick, pointy alien skull?”

Ryuunosuke rolled her eyes, as Lum scowled at Mr. Fujinami. “Yeah, invited. Just like me, Nagisa, Shinobu, Moroboshi, Ran, Sakura-sensei…”

“Which reminds me boy,” Mr. Fujinami said, “Why are you and Nagisa lollygagging around here? Don’t you know that there’s work to be done! We’re supposed to be preparing the Hamachaya for its grand opening tomorrow!”

Shutarou burst into the living room suddenly, his eyes wild. “No! No, no, no!” He pointed a shaky finger at Mr. Fujinami. “I am *not* letting you try and run your scummy little business anywhere on my property! No way, no how!”

Mr. Fujinami looked back at Shutarou with deep disdain. “You should hold your tongue, boy.” He pointed back at Shutarou, wagging his finger at him. “The Fujinami name is tied to that of the Hamachaya, and the Hamachaya is tied to that of the sea.” He raised his finger towards the view of the horizon, of the sea beyond. “You see the sea out there, boy? It does not care for your weak decorum, or reliance on manners. It breaks down all equally amongst the waves!”

“Is that so, Fujinami-san? The very villa you are inside right now seems to be holding up rather well against the waves.” Ryouko Mendou stepped into the living room, wearing a light blue summer dress. She was flanked by her usual kuroko servants, wearing their traditional black dress. As everyone turned to look at her, she started to smile.

Mr. Fujinami wasn’t smiling. His face was still as rigid as stone. “What are you babbling about, woman?”

“Well, it’s very simple, Fujinami-san.” Ryouko made her way over to a vacant papasan chair, sitting herself down. “As far as I can tell, you’ve come here because Lum-san brought your daughter and her fiancee along, hasn’t she? And didn’t you just mention reopening your precious Hamachaya on our beach for the summer?”

Ataru blinked, and looked at Shutarou. “Your beach? I thought this was a public beach.”

Shutarou just nodded. “Well, it is, officially. But just about every property on it is owned by the Mendou clan, including the changing huts and the beachside stalls.”

Ataru stared at Shutarou in horror, his eyes bugging out like a landed fish. ”E-eeh?” The leaves of the last remaining bit of celery dropped from his lips to land on the floor.

“Just about the only things in a five-mile radius that we don’t own is the sand and the sea itself.” Shutarou sighed deely, and looked off into the distant horizon. “And believe me, my father tried his best.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Fujinami was glaring daggers at Ryouko. “Must you continue this idiotic charade, acting like my son is a woman?”

Ryouko just smirked back at him. “Of course. How silly of me.” Then Ryouko sat back, crossing her legs at the knee. “Now, I did say before I brought you here that if we were going to help assist you in running your Hamachaya, we were going to run a background check on you and your family. We have had to do a lot of digging into public records and such, not to mention questioning your _daughter_ , too.”

The way that Ryouko stressed the word “daughter” made Mr. Fujinami twitch. “What did my stupid son tell you? Are you going to trust the word of a foolish boy over his own father?!”

Ryouko’s smile grew wider. “Well, I also talked to your daughter’s friends. And I had my servants secretly record you on video last summer, and followed you around during school…”

“Get to the point, woman!” Mr. Fujinami suddenly shouted. “I’m not going to stay here and be lectured at by some child who obviously hasn’t been disciplined enough! Especially on how to run my own business!”

Ryouko’s smile faded, and her gaze fixed on Mr. Fujinami with laser-sharp focus. “Your Hamachaya will be on our beach, Fujinami-san. But you won’t be the one running it. According to all evidence, you’re the biggest liability of your own business, big enough to threaten our partnership all by yourself.”

Ryouko motioned towards Ryuunosuke with a hand. “As a result, your _daughter_ will be running the Hamachaya in your place, with the help of her fiancee and her friends. You can stay here in the villa, and enjoy our hospitality. But if you’re caught doing anything to interfere with your daughter’s business here, our family will promptly eject you from the beach with extreme prejudice.”

Then Ryouko smiled sweetly at Mr. Fujinami. “Just think of it like this: Your daughter is inheriting your beloved Hamachaya, just like you’ve always dreamed of. It’s just that it’s a whole lot sooner than you imagined it to be.”

Mr. Fujinami didn’t reply. He didn’t do much of anything other than to stand there gaping at Ryouko, in a perfect imitation of a landed fish. It was a rare moment for the man, to be so completely lost like this.

Ryuunosuke stared over at Ryouko from her chair, completely taken by surprise. She completely ignored her father, leaving him standing there in shock.

Ryouko turned to look at Ryuunosuke, a bright smile on her face. “Ryuunosuke-kun, the Hamachaya will be ready by tomorrow morning. We placed it on a nice little spot where the majority of people will pass by, so I hope you can make it as proud as your father has dreamed it would be.”

Ryuunosuke just nodded at Ryoko, completely silent. Around her, Lum was bouncing excitedly, happy for her friend to have something going right in her life for once.

“Good luck, Ryuunosuke-kun!” Shinobu called out. “We’ll be behind you all the way!”

Ryuunosuke turned her face away as everyone else started cheering in celebration. She didn’t want anyone there to see her smiling. She also didn’t want anyone to notice the tears gathering in her eyes.

 

* * *

  
Out on the beach, the Mendou company was busy setting up the line of stalls on the beachhead, for the various beach shops the next morning. Large canopies of various colours all stood tall on foundations of stone and wood, waiting for tables and chairs to be placed inside.

Several men were busy setting up tables and chairs in one stall with a white canopy when two young women slowly wheeled up a small wooden yatai cart beside them. Despite its small size though, it was respectably outfitted: a gas-fired grill plate, complete with extra propane tanks; massive jars of okonomiyaki batter and sauce, and plastic boxes full of shredded cabbage, finely chopped green onion and shaved bonito; bottles of mayo and shakers full of aonori and tubes of hot mustard and a large cooler full of thinly sliced belly pork and raw shrimp. Enough to make okonomiyaki for a full week or more, depending on demand.

The brunette stepped away from the push bar, leaving her black-haired companion to stay beside the yatai. She turned to look at the men assembling the stall with the white canopy, and called out to them in a strong Kansai dialect, “Hey, this where the beachside shops gonna be?”

A member of Shutarou’s kuromegane servants quickly made his way over to the two women. “Much apologies, ma’am. We’re still in the middle of setting things up. What’s your name?”

“Kuonji Ukyou,” the brunette answered. She pointed over at the other girl by the yatai. “This here’s Konatsu.” She turned back to the worker with an easy smile. “Don’t worry about permits or anything, we’re fully registered by the city council.”

The guard pulled out a notepad and started scribbling. “Does your friend have a second name there?”

“Kunoichi Konatsu.” Konatsu said shyly.

The guard stared at Konatsu for a moment, before he scribbled in the pad again. “Kunoichi… Konatsu.” Then he shoved his notepad back into his pocket. “Well, that’s all we need. You can park your yatai in the red stall next to this one. Then we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Ukyou nodded, and got back behind the push bar, wheeling the yatai inside the neighbouring red stall. The two girls managed to negotiate the rows of empty tables and chairs, pushing the stall into the back.

“There we go,” Ukyou said, locking the yatai’s wheels in place. “Now we’re ready for tomorrow.”

Konatsu ducked under the push bar, and stepped back from the yatai slightly. “I’ve never been to the beach before.” She turned around to look out of one of the canopy windows, towards the tide of the ocean. The moon had risen over the waves, leaving a shimmering white reflection. “It’s so beautiful…”

Ukyou grinned as she pulled out the propane tanks. “Yeah, well, you’d better get a good look at all that, honey.” She grunted as she slotted a tank into place inside the yatai. “Tomorrow’s gonna be so busy that you won’t have time to stop and enjoy the scenery. That’s why I got Ran-chan and Akane-chan coming, too!”

Konatsu turned to give Ukyou a smile. “I’ll do my best, Ukyou-sama! I’ll make sure this week will be our best ever!”

Ukyou grinned widely. “That’s the spirit, Natsu-chan!”

 

* * *

 

  
In a beach-house miles away, however, the inhabitants were much less enthusiastic about the next day. Ranma Saotome stared out at the horizon, a glum look on her face. “This sucks. When I heard ‘bout spending a weekend at the beach, I didn’t know we were gonna be workin’.”

Akane sighed deeply as she unpacked her luggage. “Didn’t you say you owed Ukyou after the whole thing between you and that incident with Happosai and that expanding foam? Where it all got into Ukyou-san's batter mix and ruined it?”

Ranma shuddered deeply. “Didn’t think I felt clean for months after that.”

Akane straightened out one of her swimsuits. “Well, you need to learn to be more responsible, especially with other people’s property!” She placed the swimsuit in the wardrobe. “You better get ready for tomorrow. You know Ukyou expects a lot out of her waitresses.”

“Yeah,” Ranma said ruefully. “That’s what I’m afraid of…”

As the night went on, everyone went to sleep for tomorrow, little knowing of what was about to happen. For the Mendou servants had allowed Ukyou and Konatsu to take the stall next to the one where Ryuunosuke and Nagisa were assigned.

With one single, careless stroke of the pen, the beginnings of the Okonomiyaki Summer Wars were set into motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brace yourselves everyone, it's time for a crossover!
> 
> This is something I've written over the summer, and have only just now decided to bring out. I have to say, I think that Ryuunosuke and Ukyou do make for pretty interesting rivals, don't they? That was most of the thinking I had while I was writing this, and it helped fuel my will to keep writing, right up until the end.
> 
> I'll post more on this soon, but for now this one chapter will kick things off. It's only going to get more interesting from here on out.


	2. DAY TWO: Opening Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hamachaya and Ucchan's are open for business! And Ryuunosuke's decision to sell Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki quickly gains the attention and ire of Ukyou...

As soon as she opened her eyes the next morning, Ryuunosuke was up and ready for the day. Within half an hour, she had taken a shower, gotten dressed, bolted down some breakfast with Shinobu and Nagisa and was out the door, headed for the beach.

It was pretty easy for her to find her Hamachaya among the shop stalls on the beach, because of the large red banner fluttering over the entrance reading "Hamachaya" in white hiragana. The Hamachaya's white canopy stood tall and big above Ryuunosuke, bigger than the tiny little wood and metal shack that she had lived and worked in before. Inside, Ryuunosuke could see a simple gas griddle and some coolers, and rows of formica tables and metal chairs that looked like enough for more than forty people.

Even though it was effectively the same as all the others as far as she knew, Ryuunosuke felt like this was her very own Hamachaya. It was something that she could run herself as she pleased, without interference from anyone, especially her father. Something that was pretty much her own.

For the first time in her life, Ryuunosuke was looking forward to running the Hamachaya.

"Do you like it, Ryuunosuke-sama?" Nagisa asked as he stepped in behind her, wearing his usual yellow sundress. "Mendou-san told me that he made sure that you would have what you need." He was carrying the antique shaved ice maker in his arms, one of the few things that he had managed to save from Mr. Fujinami's luggage.

Ryuunosuke nodded, heading towards the large coolers resting against the back wall of the Hamachaya's canopy. "Well, you said that you would like something different this year, right?" She popped open the top of one cooler, revealing bags of shredded cabbage, flour and eggs. "How d'ya feel about okonomiyaki?"

Nagisa was grinning as he stepped closer. "Well, it sure is a change from the usual ramen..."  


* * *

  
The stall next to the Hamachaya, as it was with all of the other stalls on the beach, was large with a wooden floor, enough tables and chairs to seat more than forty people, and had coolers full of supplies. The only difference was that this stall had a deep red canopy, with a banner that read "Okonomiyaki Ucchan" in yellow text, and that inside, Ukyou had set up her yatai with its own gas grill, instead of having one supplied.

Ukyou had noticed the activity in the stall next door, especially the bags of shredded cabbage being pulled out. But as far as she was concerned, it wasn't anything to worry about. She had heard five different people talk about selling okonomiyaki at the beach today, but she could tell that none of them were on her level at all.

Konatsu was hurrying around, setting up the tables and chairs. Judging from the look on her face, Ukyou could tell that she was somewhat worried about the competition. She wanted to go over and give the kunoichi a tight hug, just so she could stop being so damn anxious all the time.

She still had to prepare everything before opening. Then she could show everyone on this beach what real okonomiyaki was all about.

Moments later, Akane and Ranma came in. Akane was wearing a cute little white one-piece swimsuit with purple polka dots, while Ranma had decided to go with an attractive blue bikini. Ranma quickly bounded over to Ukyou, grinning. "Hey, Ucchan!"

"Oh hey, Ranchan!" Ukyou replied, grinning back. "Ready to pitch in, aren't ya? A beach-side shop like this is only as good as its poster girl is, ya know!" She turned around to address her fully. "You know how it works, don't ya? You go out onto the beach and start looking for customers, go up to them and ask if they could come over and have some of our okonomiyaki."

Ranma nodded. "Sounds like that ain't gonna be a problem, Ucchan." She looked over at Akane, who was busy chatting with Konatsu. "I'm more worried about you giving Akane some work. I mean, you know how her cooking is..."

Ukyou just snorted. "Relax, Ranchan. Akane-chan's just gonna be a waitress with Natsu-chan. I'm sure she's not gonna screw that up." She noticed the sceptical look on Ranma's face, and cringed. "What, ya want me to bring her over or something?"

Ranma blanched. "Yeah, right. Let me handle the poster girl job. Just don't let her anywhere near me, especially when her cooking is involved."

Ukyou just sighed and waved Ranma away, then looked over at Akane and Konatsu. Akane seemed to be really admiring of Konatsu's beach outfit: a tight black top with a loose light blue short-sleeved shirt with the bottom rolled up over it, and a colourful sarong around her hips. Pinned in the kunoichi's hair was a coral pink starfish, instead of the usual flower.

Of course Akane would be impressed, Ukyou thought to herself. Konatsu is so good at hiding the more masculine parts of her that even she ends up thinking she's fully a girl. It made her wonder if Akane was a little bit jealous of that.

Ukyou stepped up to the two girls, clearing her throat. "Hope to see a little bit of hustle from ya, Akane-chan. It looks like we're gonna have some competition today." She twirled one of her spatulas around her fingers. "I don't want to end the day second best to some two-bit punks working on a summer job. I want everyone to know that our okonomiyaki is the best around!"

"Of course, Ukyou-san!" Akane said firmly. "I'll do my best!"

Ukyou nodded. "Just remember not to push yourself too far. I don't want you tripping and splattering guests with my food." She turned to Konatsu. "Have you seen what the other shops are like, Natsu-chan?"

Konatsu turned to look out one of the open windows. "I had a check a few minutes ago. There's shops selling okonomiyaki on either side of us, a takoyaki stand towards the end, and even a place selling kara-age. But nothing that suggests an actual threat." She tapped her finger to her lips. "At least, nothing yet..."

Ukyou just smirked, letting the spatula drop back into her hand. "Well, let them come. Let's see what this beach thinks of Okonomiyaki Ucchan!"  


* * *

  
"You know what you're doing, right?" Ryuunosuke asked Lum as she switched on the gas burners underneath the griddle. "The Hamachaya is gonna need the best poster girls that I know. And I know that you can do that in your sleep."

"Of course, Ryuunosuke!" Lum smiled hesitantly. She was wearing one of her favourite bikinis, coloured a bright red. "But why me and Ran-chan over there?" She looked over at Ran, humming to herself as she helped set up the tables with Shinobu and Nagisa.

Ran was also wearing a bikini, and where Lum was wearing her favourite, Ran just seemed to be wearing the pinkest and frilliest bikini she had. Her hair was tied up behind her head in a cute set of braids, held together with a bright yellow ribbon.

Ryuunosuke just groaned. "Look, Ran is pretty cute, and she offered to help. And more poster girls means more customers!"

"Ryuunosuke-kun's right!" Ran said, coming up behind Lum. "You're just being mean again, Lum-chan!" She sidled a little closer, her eyes teary. "I thought we were friends! I couldn't believe that you could doubt me like that!"

Ryuunosuke sighed as Ran began to sob dramatically into her hands. She moved around the grill and patted Ran's shoulder gently. "Come on, don't cry." She tilted up Ran's chin gently. "I need you to be the best poster girl you can be. You can't do that while you're crying. So dry your tears, alright?"

Ran looked up at Ryuunosuke silently, before bowing her head once more and giving a quiet nod. She didn't say anything, she didn't even smile, she just nodded. Lum could only stare at Ryuunosuke in surprise.

Ryuunosuke nodded, and let her hand drop. She watched silently as Ran quickly turned and left the Hamachaya, before looking at Lum. "Pretty smooth, right?" She gave Lum a small grin.

Lum tilted her head curiously. "You sure know how to handle Ran-chan, don't you?" She smirked slightly, crossing her arms. "Is that your father's teachings?"

"Man, be serious, would you?" Ryuunosuke said, glaring at Lum. "I got that shit from _Mendou_ , not my old man!" She grabbed a pair of spatulas and set them down on the griddle. "The only thing that my dad taught me was that you'd need to do whatever it takes to get an advantage..."

"Considering what's going on outside, you'd probably need all the advantages you can get." Shinobu stepped up to the griddle, a small pad and pen held tightly in her hand. She was wearing a black one-piece swimsuit, that had stripes of green down one side; while she thought it wasn't all that special, Ryuunosuke had told her it was one of her favourites. "Nagisa-san told me that there's going to be stiff competition up and down along this beach. Especially considering okonomiyaki!"

Ryuunosuke snorted, crossing her arms. "Too late to turn back now, I guess. If this is what the Hamachaya is gonna face on our first day, then I'm gonna come out swinging! This is gonna be the best damn first day ever!"  


* * *

  
From the moment the beach shops officially opened their doors, the customers came swarming in by the dozen. The poster girls had officially done their job a little too well by all accounts: Lum and Ran brought in as many as four men each with every run, and Ranma was bringing in six to eight by herself. And that wasn't counting the girls that came in as well, after a couple of girls peeked in and saw Ryuunosuke at work at the griddle.

Ryuunosuke was shocked that she managed to get so many customers in on her first hour open, but she decided to put in her all to avoid getting swamped. Her spatulas flashed as they caught the sunlight, working furiously across the griddle as she put more and more okonomiyaki out to cook, and piled on more yakisoba alongside. The sight of the customers watching her work with no small degree of awe helped spur her on, even the girls watching her in the same dreamy fashion that she once saw on Shinobu, whenever Mendou was around her.

Over in the corner, Nagisa was making shaved ice by the dozen, while Shinobu was serving drinks and bringing food around the tables. Ryuunosuke was relieved that Nagisa's shaved ice was just the ordinary kind, with the various fruit flavoured syrups. Nagisa had considered selling his "speciality" sea urchin shaved ice, but Ryuunosuke had told him that it probably would have gone down like a wet fart in the middle of an exam.

The news that there were a few other shops selling okonomiyaki hadn't put Ryuunosuke off, but let her take a different tack. She had a recipe for the Hiroshima style okonomiyaki that was perfect for the situation, marking her okonomiyaki as different from the Kansai style that everyone else was using. She had been tinkering with it during Home Economics class, with suggestions made by Shinobu and Nagisa added along the way.

The recipe was simple: a circle of batter as base, made from flour and dashi stock, with bonito flakes and shredded kelp (Shinobu's suggestion) on top, followed by cabbage, beansprouts, bits of fried tempura batter, pieces of fried squid and a little bit of sliced spring onion. The whole pile was then layered with thin slices of belly pork and turned over, while yakisoba was fried up together with sea urchin (Nagisa's idea) in oil and a little sauce, and eggs fried alongside those. The okonomiyaki was piled on top of the yakisoba, then piled on the egg, and then the whole thing was flipped over, before being brushed over with sauce and covering in a fine layer of aonori, or green laver.

Ryuunosuke didn't really know if her okonomiyaki was authentically Hiroshima or not, especially with sriracha and mayonnaise among the condiments, but nobody seemed to be complaining. Everyone was too busy enjoying the food to really care, and Ryuunosuke was too busy working to care.

The only thing that worried Ryuunosuke were the people in the red tent next to the Hamachaya. Shinobu had told her that the red tent were doing just as well as they were, with only one poster girl. That suggested to Ryuunosuke that those people had something that not even Lum or Ran could compete with. Which probably meant that it was the skill of the cooks inside, and not just the prettiness of the girls, that were making them competitive.

It was going to be an interesting summer, that was for sure: Ryuunosuke had wanted to break out from her father's Hamachaya, and instead wandered herself into a dangerous competition among the beach shops. It would have almost been amusing, if her new livelihood didn't depend on it.

Finally, business let up enough that Ryuunosuke could pace herself. Shinobu was resting herself beside Ryuunosuke's griddle, while Nagisa was checking the stores of food to see if they could keep up with demand. The thought that they could run out did make Ryuunosuke nervous, but also elated that her Hamachaya was already so popular on its first day.

Even Shinobu seemed to think so, watching the people come and go. "I never thought that we could end up being so busy... This must be miles away from the times when you and your father were running the Hamachaya together."

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke said as she let the okonomiyaki cook. "I've never seen so many people in a place like this before. And here I thought we weren't gonna be so popular on the first day."

"Is that because Mendou told you to sell your okonomiyaki at 400 yen each?" Shinobu asked. "I know it's more than you're used to, but it's not really  _that_ expensive..."

"It ain't the price," Ryuunosuke said, shaking her head. "I guess I'm just used to not getting all that many customers at the Hamachaya. And the last time I tried working by myself, the old man wouldn't leave me alone."

"Well, you won't have to worry about your father now," Shinobu said, "not with Mendou-san running this beach. He and Ryoko-san promised to protect us if your father tried anything on you or any of us."

Ryuunosuke snorted, dishing out another pair of okonomiyaki. "You sure about that? Or is it just his sister twisting his arm?" She perked up when Ran suddenly bounced into the Hamachaya, tugging a young man behind her. He already stood out with his lack of swimwear, instead wearing a black sleeveless shirt and pants, but he was also carrying a huge pack on his back. His short black hair was held back with a yellow and black bandanna, letting his wild-looking eyes see clearly.

The young man was led to a nearby table, where he put down his pack and took a seat, while Ran turned over to Ryuunosuke and called out, "one okonomiyaki, please!" Ryuunosuke stared at the man for a while, wondering exactly when she last saw him. She definitely remembered him from someplace...

Ryuunosuke sighed and went back to work. She could worry about the similaries later, after she was done with the man's okonomiyaki.

When the okonomiyaki was set before him, Ryouga blinked in surprise. "I'd never though I'd see Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki out here." He picked up the small spatula and started cutting into the okonomiyaki. "Most of the other shops here do the Kansai-style."

"We saw all of the other okonomiyaki shops here," the waitress told him, a bright smile on her face. "We figured that we would do something different. We wanted to stand out a bit, after all."

Ryouga took a few bites of okonomiyaki, pausing for a moment, before looking up at the waitress. "Well, it's pretty good. You're doing pretty well for a bunch of beginners. I bet even Ukyou-san would be impressed." He glanced out the window, looking towards the neighbouring red stall. "Though I guess she wouldn't say so herself..."

"Ukyou? As in Kuonji Ukyou?" The cook asked from behind her griddle. "Of Okonomiyaki Ucchan? You know her?"

Ryouga blinked slowly, catching the look on the cook's face. "Yeah, I do. Do you?"

The cook looked out the window, towards the red stall. "I guess you could say that me and the old man had a couple of run-ins in the past. But I hadn't heard from her in a while." She looked back at Ryouga. "Not even the old man is willing to mess with her. Probably because of that bigass spatula she carries around on her back."

Ryouga just nodded, and started eating through the rest of the okonomiyaki, watching the cook return to her griddle while her waitress looked on, with worry on her face. Whatever it was, he probably couldn't help with it. The best he could do is eat his okonomiyaki and leave a payment.

He left as unobtrusively as he possibly could, hefting his massive pack on his back. But he barely got a couple of yards away from the white shop stall before Ranma noticed him.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know some odd people, Ryuunosuke-kun." Shinobu cleared the dirty plates away, going over to the sink to clean them up. "Did you, like, talk with this Kuonji girl? Were you friends or anything?"

Ryuunosuke gave Shinobu a funny look. "The only time I met Ukyou face to face, she brained my old man with her bigass spatula because we were fighting next to her shop." She looked down at the griddle again, flipping aggressively. "I don't even remember why we were fighting or how we got there, I just saw her smash him out into the surf like a golf ball. All the other times, we were just passing each other by."

"So you never had a crush on her?" Shinobu asked suddenly. Then the realisation of what she said sank in, and her face went bright red. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that..."

Ryuunosuke just gave Shinobu a funny look. "You gettin' jealous of her or something?"

Shinobu blushed even further. "It wouldn't be the first time you crushed on a girl."

Ryuunosuke just snorted and returned to her griddle. "This ain't the time for whirlwind summer romances, Shinobu. We got work to do. You think Kuonji's just gonna stop everything once she finds out what I'm doing here?"  


* * *

  
"Fujinami?" Ukyou said, her face full of thunder. "You're telling me that _Fujinami's_ kid is running the shop next door?"

Ryouga sat awkwardly on the metal chair, surrounded by Akane, Ranma and Ukyou. He couldn't bring himself to look at any of the girls' faces, because none of them looked happy to see him. Ranma was slightly peeved, and Akane was just confused and worried.

"I didn't think you'd react like that," Ryouga said nervously. "She didn't even seem to know you other than by name and reputation."

"I might not know that kid," Ukyou said, "but I sure as hell know her old man. Fujinami's a long time enemy of the Kuonji family. The rancid shadow on our legacy. Remember last year, when you and me were in Atami? I caught him trying to steal food from my yatai. The summer before that, he stole my gas canisters. And the year before that, he ruined several stalls and blamed it on me!"

Ukyou stepped closer to Ryouga, staring down at him. "Whenever we'd cross paths, he'd always try and pull some trick on us, just because he knew he couldn't compete fairly. And you think his kid wouldn't be any different?"

"Well, why don't you see for yourself?" Ryouga asked. "That girl was making okonomiyaki pretty damn good, from what I could tell."

Ukyou stepped back, fuming. "Oh, you better believe that I will, Hibiki!" She turned around and stomped over to the griddle, mixing together a special deluxe okonomiyaki (with thick-cut pork and shrimp) on the hot plate. "I'm gonna let that Fujinami know that I'm not messing around here!"

Akane stared at Ukyou as she furiously worked on the griddle, and then turned to Konatsu. "You ever seen Ukyou-san like this, Konatsu-san?" She looked back with worry on her face. "I don't think I've ever seen her like this for the longest time."

"I don't think I've ever seen her like this," Konatsu answered. "I really hope that nobody gets hurt."

After a few minutes, Ukyou slid her finished okonomiyaki onto a paper plate, and carried it out of the shop, leaving behind the confused stares of her customers and co-workers, heading over to the shop stall next door. She kept the plate perfectly balanced on her fingers as she stepped inside the Hamachaya, looking around the place.

"Hey!" She called out, loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the shop. "Is there a Fujinami here? I need to see 'em!"

Ryuunosuke looked up from her griddle, putting the last of her okonomiyaki on plates, ready for Shinobu to bring to customers. She slowly scraped the sauce and oil from the griddle as she gazed at the woman. "Kuonji. How long has it been since we seen each other? Like a year ago, right?"

"Yeah," Ukyou said, carrying her okonomiyaki with her. "I really didn't expect you to be here, of all places."

Ryuunosuke just nodded. "Same here. Didn't expect you to leave your business to come here and see me, either."

"And I didn't take you for a Hiroshima native," Ukyou said, her voice cold. "But then again, I don't think anybody from Hiroshima would be caught dead offering mayonnaise and sriracha to put on their okonomiyaki."

A terrible silence descended upon the Hamachaya. Some of the customers left quietly, fearing a brawl.

Ryuunosuke just grunted, leaning forward over the grill, glaring at Ukyou. "Who says this is supposed to be authentic Hiroshima okonomiyaki?" Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not getting complaints from my customers. Why should I care what _you_ think?"

Ukyou glared back, matching Ryuunosuke's intensity with her own. As the griddle below radiated its heat, the heat of the gazes from each girl rose up to match in intensity. More of the customers backed away, nervous about the prospects of a heated battle. All that was needed was somebody to make the first move.

And that was something that Ryoko Mendou specialised in.

"Excuse me, miss?"

Ukyou and Ryuunosuke turned around to see Ryoko standing beside them, flanked with her kuroko guards. Even under the intense stares, she didn't even flinch. She just gave them both a smile, before she turned to Ukyou.

"My name is Mendou Ryoko. No doubt you've heard of me?" She paused for a millisecond to smile before continuing. "Me and my family own these stalls for the beach shops, which includes administration..."

Ukyou gave Ryoko a savage glare. "Well, I don't like have people muscling in when I'm trying to settle a score here. Even if they're a Mendou, whoever they are."

"Oh really?" Ryoko asked, a dangerous gleam in her eye. "I don't have to remind you that our family is prepared to eject anyone who dares cause any trouble on this beach, then. And that includes people running their business here."

Ukyou stared at Ryoko for a long while, before looking back at Ryuunosuke. "I've just come here to give you a free sample of my okonomiyaki." She dropped the paper plate unceremoniously onto Ryuunosuke's griddle, before looking at Ryoko. "And if you want some, you can come over to Okonomiyaki Ucchan and get some."

Then Ukyou turned to leave. But she had only taken a couple of steps before Ryuunosuke suddenly called out, "HEY!"

Ryuunosuke just raised up her spatula as Ukyou turned to glare at her. "Don't you wanna try mine, too? You've gone to all this trouble for me, a rank amateur, and you don't want to see what mine is like?"

Ukyou just stared at Ryuunosuke, completely silent.

"I mean, I was just gonna turn off and close up for the day..." Ryuunosuke said, her voice quiet and hesitant.

Ukyou, despite her better judgement, turned around fully to face Ryuunosuke. "Alright then," she said, "show me what you got."

Ryuunosuke nodded, grabbing her jug of batter. She went through the practised motions; spreading the circle of batter, topping bonito flakes and shredded kelp. Then came the cabbage and beansprouts. On top of that came tempura bits, sliced spring onion, fried squid, slices of pork, and a protective layer of batter on top.

Ryuunosuke flipped it over, then spread oil and butter beside it so she could get to work cooking the rest. She cooked the sea urchin with some shrimp in the melting butter, and cooked the yakisoba on the oil, her spatulas moving with precision as the sweet aroma of sea urchin rose up. As the steam rose up under the crepe, cooking through everything underneath, she pressed down with both spatulas, flattening the crepe out.

Then Ryuunosuke cracked a large egg open, letting it fry for a couple of seconds, before layering the yakisoba, sea urchin and shrimp on top and pressing down roughly, breaking the yolk and letting the egg melt with the hot yakisoba.

Then Ryuunosuke layered the whole thing together, flipped it over once more, cut it into segments. slathered it with sauce and aonori, before putting it all on a paper plate with some chopsticks and offering it to Ukyou.

Ukyou could only stare at the piping hot okonomiyaki, as Ryuunosuke scraped the hot surface clean. The sweet aroma of the sauce tickled her nose, and she could tell that it was the wholesale catering kind, as opposed to her own handmade sauce. She had more than enough experience, both by herself and under her father, to be able to tell the difference. But even then, it still looked like a very formidable okonomiyaki.

Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke had taken Ukyou's offering in her hand, breaking apart a pair of chopsticks with her teeth. Even though it had been some time after it had left Ukyou's griddle, Ryuunosuke could tell from the smell of the sauce that something about this okonomiyaki was different.

When both girls took their first bite of okonomiyaki, they were shocked at how much their expectations were exceeded.

Everyone around them watched in silence as they ate, nobody daring to speak a word. Even some of the customers from Okonomiyaki Ucchan were peering in through the windows, wondering what was going on. The air was so thick with tension that it was hard to do anything else.

When Ukyou put down her empty plate, her head was bowed low, not even looking at anybody around her. "T-thanks for the food..." She quickly turned and left the Hamachaya, walking as quickly as she possibly could.

Ryuunosuke was left to stand at her griddle, picking at the last of the sauce on her plate.  
 

* * *

 

Ukyou was quiet and subdued all the way up until closing time. Konatsu watched with concern as she boarded up the stall for the night, and trudged off to the small beach house that everyone was staying at. When Ranma and Akane announced that they were heading back to get changed and rest, she didn't even look at them, let alone say anything.

Konatsu also left early, feeling that maybe Ukyou would need some time alone. When she arrived at the beach house, she quickly changed to a pink cotton yukata and knelt in the living room, waiting for Ukyou to return. Kasumi watched Konatsu quietly while she worked, her eyes full of concern.

Hesitantly, Kasumi stepped up to Konatsu, wiping her hands on her apron. "How was business today, Konatsu-chan?"

Konatsu gave Kasumi a nervous smile. "It was fine, Kasumi-sama. We did some very good business today, but..." She paused, and looked away quickly. A lifetime of loyalty meant that her misgivings about Ukyou had misgivings of their own about coming out into the open.

"But what?" Kasumi asked, tilting her head curiously.

"But..." Konatsu said quietly, trailing off. Tears were already gathering in her eyes. "There's this rival next to our stall. The daughter of somebody Ukyou has hated for a long time, making okonomiyaki." She wiped her tears with a handkerchief. "Ukyou went over to confront her for a challenge, and she tried her okonomiyaki, and after that she looked like she was in such distress, but she wouldn't talk to anyone about it."

"Oh my!" Kasumi blinked in surprise, a hand to her mouth. "She wasn't hurt or anything, was she?"

Konatsu shook her head. "I'm sure she's not poisoned or anything. But still, something about that Fujinami girl rattled her horribly. She mentioned something about her father, but..."

"Well, I have heard about somebody named Fujinami from some of my friends out shopping." Kasumi said. "They're students at Tomobiki High School, which has kind of a reputation..." She smiled nervously. "It's probably nothing you should be worried about."

At that moment, the door opened and Ukyou walked in, shrugging off her happi coat, and sitting down at the low table. "Hey there, Kacchan." She tapped her nails against the low table. "Is Ranchan and Akane around?"

Kasumi just shook her head. "I think that they've gone off to get some dinner in the town. I think they need something different from okonomiyaki right now." She shrank back when she caught sight of Ukyou's dangerous expression. "Well, not that there's anything wrong with okonomiyaki, of course..."

"Of course not," Nabiki said as she stepped inside, wearing a tight T-shirt and denim shorts. "Doesn't mean that you're gonna eat okonomiyaki every meal of every day, though." She blinked as Ukyou fixed her with a cold stare. "What's wrong with you, anyway? Some flies got into your sauce or something?"

Kasumi just shook her head. "Ukyou's worried about some kind of rival in the beach shops. Somebody named Fujinami from Tomobiki High..."

Nabiki blinked once more. "Tomobiki? Not the same school where Moroboshi Ataru went to?" She quickly sat down at the low table, crossing her legs under her. "I heard that school is one of the worst schools in Nerima! The only place that would be worse is Sanrinbou, and that place is packed with thugs!"

Konatsu's eyes widened. "Worse than a school like Sanrinbou? Is that even more packed with thugs?" For a moment, the kunoichi imagined a school so full of delinquents that they flopped out of their classrooms when the door was opened. The image was mildly funny, but she couldn't even bring herself to laugh at it.

"Thugs, maybe. But that's not what the problem is." Nabiki tapped her finger on the tabletop. "Aliens, ghosts, demons, weird magical crap... That place is like a nexus of strange happenings." She looked over at Ukyou. "Believe me, somebody who has been learning at a school like that are gonna be real dangerous."

Ukyou could only stare at Nabiki with worry all over her face. Her mind was going a mile a minute, as she considered what she had heard. If Fujinami went to school at a place like Tomobiki High, then there was no telling what she was capable of. She had heard all of the stories coming out of the that place, of various aliens dropping in and out, of weird ghosts and curses, and especially a whole lot about the disgusting pervert Moroboshi Ataru that made her skin crawl.

"You know, I could give you some more advice," Nabiki said causally, checking her nails. "But it's gonna have to cost you. Maybe if you could let me eat at Ucchan's for free, I could..."

Nabiki was interrputed by Ukyou slamming her palms onto the tabletop, making such a loud bang that she jumped out of her skin, along with everyone else. Ukyou then fixed Nabiki with a red-hot gaze, her eyes burning, her nostrils flaring.

"I'll give you anything you want," Ukyou said, her voice grinding slow. "Just tell me how to take care of that macho chick!"  


* * *

  
Ryuunosuke leaned against the rail of the balcony of the Mendou villa, looking out towards the sun dipping down towards the horizon. Even though it was the middle of summer, the night wind still chilled her to the bone, and she wanted to shrink down and huddle against it.

Even hours after she had tried Ukyou's okonomiyaki, she couldn't get that taste out of her mind. Even now, she could still recall that flavour, hanging in front of her like some ghostly spectre that she couldn't touch. It was the proverbial brass ring, something she could see, but would be just out of her reach.

When Ryuunosuke decided to sell okonomiyaki in her Hamachaya, she never expected to immediately discover such a dangerous rival. She didn't know what she was getting into, and she was wondering if she could have avoided all this if she sold ramen instead.

"Ryuu-chan?"

Ryuunosuke whirled around on the voice coming too close behind her, fists at the ready. Just in case, of course.

"Whoah, hey there!" Ataru took a step back, hands raised. "I'm just trying to reach out to you here!" He didn't have that stupid grin on his face, which meant that he was actually trying to be nice for once. Either he was trying a different tack to get into her panties, or Lum was somewhere nearby, watching him like a hawk.

"I mean, you've been raking in the money all day, and you're still out here looking glum." Ataru said nervously. "What's up?"

Ryuunosuke just scowled at Ataru. "Nothing _you're_ gonna understand."

"Yeah?" Ataru asked, a smirk on his face. "Try me."

Ryuunosuke's eyes narrowed. "I told you..."

"Is it about that cute brunette with the bigass spatula?"

Ryuunosuke choked, her eyes bugging out in shock. "How the hell did you..."

Ataru grinned even wider. "I was there, remember? You've have to get up pretty damn early to get one past _me_!"

"Really, Darling?" Lum floated in closer, from the direction of the villa roof. "You're usually the last up out of everyone here! I always have to drag your butt out of bed in the morning!"

The smirk quickly melted off Ataru's face, and he turned to scowl at Lum. "It's supposed to be a figure of speech, Lum. You know, something we Earthlings like to say?" Then he cleared his throat, and turned back to Ryuunosuke. "You know Ryuunosuke, a pretty lady like that ain't too hard to catch. Hell, it looks like your okonomiyaki's done most of the legwork already."

"What are you talking about?" Ryuunosuke asked, her brows furrowing. "What do you mean by _'legwork'_? We aren't in love with each other, or anything! She's a rival! A really _dangerous_ rival!"

"Aw, come off it!" Ataru said. "You can't stop thinking about that chick. I can tell." Then Ataru put on his serious face again, stepping up to Ryuunosuke and putting a hand on her shoulder. "But you have to remember this, Ryuunosuke. You're a woman, and that means--"

Ryuunosuke didn't want to hear what Ataru had to say. She just took him down with a straight punch to the face, and stomped back inside the villa. Ataru was left sprawled out on his back on the balcony, seeing the usual stars.

Lum hovered over him, giving him the old side-eye. "Darling, I'm not going to be surprised if Ryuunosuke starts going after girls." She looked towards the villa. "Well, if she hasn't already..."

"I simply don't know what you mean," Ataru answered in a strained voice.  
 

* * *

  
That night, Ryuunosuke couldn't sleep. Whenever she closed her eyes, she could see the face of her father grinning down at her with sadistic glee. His taunts came from everywhere, echoing in her head. No matter where she ran to, he was there, all around her, glaring down at her.

_"You're nothing but a fool, Ryuunosuke! You should have never have abandoned your father! You're unworthy of carrying on the Hamachaya by yourself! You'll never be good enough for it! You will fail again, and again, and again!"_

The words reverberated around Ryuunosuke, stabbing into her from all angles. She couldn't escape. There was no escape.

Not until a new voice suddenly broke through:

"What are you doing? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Ryuunosuke's eyes snapped open. In front of her, just inches from her nose, was her father's face.

Slowly, everything became clear. The old man was kneeling at her bedside, glaring down at her, taunting her while she was sleeping. For all she knew, he could have been at it for a while.

Ryuunosuke's eyes darted around. Above the both of them stood Sakura, in a lacy looking nightgown, gripping her rod of purification tightly in her hands. Around her, the other girls had woken up, shrinking back in horror at the sight of the man in their midst.

"You _dare_ to invade a woman's sacred space in this way?!" Sakura snarled, the whites of her eyes showing. "Is there no end to your twisted scheming?!"

"Twisted scheming?!" Mr. Fujinami rose from the floor, his face contorted with rage. "Who dragged my son into this corrupted domain of silk, satin and ruffles? Who here have conspired to lead him away from the true path of manliness with these weak, girlish ideas? Who let him sleep in a soft cotton futon, without even having the generosity of offering themselves as a bed-mate?!" He pointed his finger at Sakura's face. "The only twisted people I see are--"

Sakura cut Mr. Fujinami's ranting off by whipping her purification rod across his face. "Purify!" As the man staggered backwards, she stepped forward and whipped the rod across the other side of his face. "Sanctify!"

Then Sakura started raining blows down on Mr. Fujinami's face and head, chanting "Purify! Sanctify!" with every strike. Then, with one giant strike in the middle of the face, she sent the man stumbling back to the floor.

"That was impressive for a _woman_ ," Mr. Fujinami said, muffled by the swelling of his bruised face. "But this fight isn't over yet!"

The next second, several kuroko servants burst into the room and piled onto Mr. Fujinami, beating him down and tying him up with thick rope. After the dust settled, he was wrapped in rope from the neck to the ankles, struggling in vain on the floor.

Ryoko stepped into the room, carrying a lit candelabra in her hand, illuminating the dark bedroom. Her white nightgown trailed behind her as she walked in. "Well well well, Fujinami-san. I have quite explicitly told you that you were not to interfere with your daughter's business here, have I not?" Her eyes hardened as she looked down at the bound man. "I would think that this would definitely count as a violation of that agreement, then. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Mr. Fujinami could only give Ryoko a venomonous glare. "I have a _son_ , not a daughter! And I am trying to free him from your grasp!" He spat on Ryoko's foot. "Your binding means _nothing_ to me!"

Ryoko glanced down at her foot, and one of her kuroko scurried over to wipe the spit off. "Ah, is that all? Then I don't think that you would mind if Ryuunosuke-san here stays here with us to run _her_ shop as she sees fit." She gave Mr. Fujinami a vicious smile. "And you can leave this beach and go back to your son. Wherever _he_ may be."

Mr. Fujinami's eyes bugged out, as the kuroko grabbed him and hauled him up. "Wait! You can't leave Ryuunosuke here! You'll corrupt him and make him into a weak woman!"

Ryoko cackled loudly behind her hand. "Oh, you foolish man. You said you had a son, did you not? And Ryuunosuke-san here is _most definitely_ a woman." Her eyes hardened even further. "So I can only suppose that means you're not welcome here..."

Mr. Fujinami could only struggle desperately against his bonds as the kuroko hauled him out the door. "You're making a big mistake here! You're destroying our family! You'll regret making a fool out of Fujinami!" His voice carried out even as he was carried outside. "YOU'LL RUE THE DAY! JUST WAIT AND SEE!"

Ryuunosuke could only watch in silence as her father was carried out into the night, struggling and screaming all the way. All she could feel as she watched him being carried away was a deep and immense sense of relief. Around her, the other girls quickly went back to bed.

However, Shinobu stayed awake. She stepped out softly behind Ryuunosuke, her face full of concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked quietly. "Can you get back to sleep?"

Ryuunosuke still stared out into the night, her eyes distant. "I can't get those words out of my mind," she said quietly. "That I'm unworthy of running the Hamachaya. That I'm not good enough for it."

"Ryuunosuke-kun..." Shinobu stepped closer, and drew her arms around Ryuunosuke's waist, a cheek resting against her back. "It's going to be okay, I promise. Ryoko-san made sure your father can't get at you any more."

Ryuunosuke turned around to face Shinobu, and she could already tell that she was doubting her own words, even in the dark of the night. Both girls knew that Mr. Fujinami was far more capable of being a pain in the ass than most people think he would.

Shinobu paused, but then tightened her hug, nuzzling in under Ryuunosuke's cheek. "Maybe you should come sleep with me tonight. In the same futon." She looked up at Ryuunosuke, blushing softly. "Would that help?"

Ryuunosuke stared down at Shinobu, her eyes wide. "What," she hissed quietly, "us in the same bed? _Seriously_?!"

"It'll be okay!" Shinobu said, lifting her head up to look at Ryuunosuke. "We're both girls aren't we? So it'll be like sharing a bed with my sister, won't it?"

"Don't even put it like that," Ryuunosuke said, blushing even further. "Do you really want to sleep with me? In the same bed?"

Shinobu smiled, and tugged Ryuunosuke gently over to her futon. "You better count your lucky stars, 'cause I've never even done this with Ataru-kun. And watch where you put your hands, okay?"

Ryuunosuke smiled as Shinobu slipped under the covers, and followed her down, settling into the soft futon. She felt Shinobu's arms curl protectively around her, and hugged back tightly with one hand, pulling the covers over them with the other.

It was only a matter of minutes before Ryuunosuke slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the second part of the story is complete!
> 
> As each part is about a day, that means I got about two more parts before the whole thing is complete. Although you've probably realised that this chapter is a great deal longer than the first one. It's even longer than it was in the previous draft, because I decided to add more scenes with Ukyou and the Furinkan camp, and flesh their side out a bit. So when I put everything together, I was kind of surprised to see the chapter topping seven and a half-thousand words.
> 
> Things are already heating up, though! In more ways than one! Now I have to get to work writing some more, including the second draft of the next chapter of this story! Maybe it'll be even longer than this one!


	3. DAY THREE: Escalation In Moderation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The storm begins to rise as Hamachaya and Ucchan's start to compete! More and more people get pulled into the battle, and the casualties can only rise from here! Especially when somebody orders the Level MAX Lumchan-yaki, with the chopped up Carolina Reapers inside...

Ukyou didn't need an alarm to wake up. She and Konatsu were early risers by necessity, for the good of their business. Which meant that they were usually the first to rise in the small little beach house they were sharing with Ranma and the Tendou family.  
  
Ukyou slipped out of the small futon that she used, noting that Konatsu's was already empty. The Tendou sisters, each in their own futon, were still in a deep sleep. Quietly, Ukyou crept out of the room, grabbing her swimsuit, happi coat and a towel to take with her into the bathroom.  
  
One quick hot shower later, she emerged from the bathroom to see Konatsu quietly tending to the rice cooker in the small kitchen area. "Mornin' Natsu-chan," she said, stepping up to the counter. "You ready for business today?"  
  
Konatsu smiled at Ukyou. "As always, Ukyou-sama." She pulled out the grill drawer, and placed several fish on the rack, ready to cook. "If business is going to be anything like it was yesterday, I think we might need to be prepared for demand."  
  
Ukyou nodded. "I called ahead, and got some extra supplies in. I'm not going to risk running out in the middle of a busy day like yesterday was." She went around the counter, taking out the miso and vegetables to make soup with. "And with Fujinami next door, we need all the preparation we can get together. I'm not gonna lose any customers to her!"  
  
Ukyou's thoughts were suddenly derailed by a rapid knocking on the front door. She gave Konatsu a confused look, before quickly crossing over the living room and foyer to open the door.  
  
To say that Ukyou was somewhat surprised to see a gigantic pig glaring down at her would be an understatement. In fact, she was scared stiff, barely even able to move. She couldn't back away from the door without her body making loud creaking sounds, like an ancient door.  
  
"Is this where the Tendous are staying?" A high, musical voice came from somewhere behind the giant pig. There was the sound of feet hitting the wooden veranda, before a beautiful young woman stepped around the pig, wearing a flowing white cotton sundress and a wide-brimmed straw hat.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you! I am Unryuu Akari!" She motioned towards the pig. "This is my pig, Katsunishiki." She bowed low, while the pig respectfully raised a trotter in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"  
  
Ukyou shrank back from the young woman and her giant pig, her mouth hanging open. She couldn't muster the mental capacity to even speak, let alone formulate a proper greeting.  
  
Konatsu quickly dashed up to her mistress' side. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Unryuu-sama!" She knelt down and bowed to her. "This is the Tendou residence. I'm Konatsu, kunoichi and faithful servant."  
  
Akari smiled down at Konatsu. "How interesting! I had only found out about this place last night, from a call from one of Akane-chan's sisters. She told me that Ryouga-kun was brought here, and she said she might be needing help with something. So I brought Katsunishiki with me to come help!"  
  
Konatsu beamed happily. "That's wonderful!" She turned to look at Ukyou-sama, who still seemed to be completely lost, and now left out of the conversation. "Isn't it wonderful, Ukyou-sama? We've got somebody to come and help us!"  
  
Slowly, Kasumi walked into the living room, clutching a towel and toiletries to her chest, her eyes bleary. "Good morning, Ukyou-san, Konatsu-san..." She paused as she saw Akari and Katsunishiki. "Oh, Akari-chan, Katsunishiki! I didn't expect you to be visiting too!" She continued on to the bathroom without even missing a step.  
  
Ukyou turned to look at Konatsu, confusion all over her face. "Uhm, Natsu-chan... Are we really gonna have that pig help run our shop?"  
  
Konatsu blinked, and looked over at Katsunishiki. "Well, maybe we could have him help pull in customers? After all, we're kind of outnumbered on the poster girl count, compared to..." She paused, remembering how upset Ukyou seemed while dealing with the rivals next door. "Well, he would probably help to draw some extra eyes in that Ranma couldn't by herself..."  
  
Ukyou looked back at Akari. "Alright, fine. You can be a poster girl, and Katsunishiki could carry a banner or something." And then she pointed a finger at Akari's nose. "But you'd best be able to pull your weight around here. I don't expect anything other than the best!"  
  
Akari blinked, but nodded firmly. "Of course, Ukyou-san! I'll do my very best!"

The bedroom door opened once more and Nabiki stumbled out in dishevelled pajamas, looking incredibly haggard. She staggered blindly into the kitchen, and started rooting through the cabinets, grumbling to herself.  
  
Everyone watched Nabiki's foraging silently, somewhat taken aback. Then Konatsu's eyes widened as something twigged in her mind.  
  
"The coffee!" She said, a look of panic on her face. "I forgot to make the coffee!" She quickly dashed into the kitchen, grabbing the coffee, kettle, and various other items. In a flash, Konatsu produced a steaming cup of black coffee for Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki took the coffee silently, and took a sip. She hummed for a moment, the dark cloud on her face quickly disappearing. "This is actually pretty good..." She looked back at Konatsu. "Nice to know that somebody is on the ball around here..."  
  
Konatsu bowed low to Nabiki. "I am ever so grateful, Nabiki-sama..."  
  
"Well, that's nice," Ukyou said, her face a mask of indifference. "I just hope that you can help us when it counts, to defeat Fujinami and those losers."  
  
Nabiki gave Ukyou an icy look. "Oh ye of little faith. Who do you think asked this cutie here to be your poster girl this weekend?" She motioned over to Akari, who gave Ukyou a nervous smile. "I've been keeping my ear to the ground all evening, trying to find out more about the shop next door."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Ukyou asked, a sceptical look on her face. "Maybe you could tell me something I don't already know?"  
  
"Well, our rival is in pretty close with the family that owns everything on this beach." Nabiki took a long sip of her coffee before continuing. "So I'm guessing that they have access to those deep Mendou pockets in case something goes wrong." She smiled a little as Ukyou blinked at her in surprise. "You want to know anything else?"  
  
Ukyou paused, before stepping up to Nabiki. "You've got to come to Ucchan's with me today! Maybe you could help give the place a boost!" She paused, her face flushing. "I mean, if you're willing to go that far an' all..."  
  
Nabiki snorted. "Well, I think you got more than enough poster girls. But Kasumi's saying she's gonna pitch in as a waitress." She turned her head as the bathroom door opened. "Oh, right on cue. Hey sis, you ready to help our buddy Ucchan out?"  
  
Kasumi stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a light blue strapless onepiece, her hair tied back in a braid that hung over her shoulder. "Of course, Nabiki-chan. I'm always ready to help."  
  
Another bedroom door opened, and Ranma stepped out, still in female form, while Ryouga followed behind.  
  
"Dang, Ryouga!" Ranma said, looking back at the boy following her. "We should probably share rooms again tonight. What you did to Pop this morning was unbelievable!" She turned her head back, and suddenly stopped short as she saw several people giving her funny looks.  
  
Ryouga stopped right behind Ranma, his eyes bugging out at the gathering of people. And then his eyes bugged out even further when he noticed Akari among the group. "A-A-A-Akari?!"  
  
"Ryouga!" Akari moved around the group, and dashed over to all but leap into Ryouga's arms. Ryouga could only stand there, staring into space as Akari hugged him tightly, in a mixture of romantic bliss and absolute confusion.  
  
While that was going on, Nabiki drank the rest of her coffee, placing the cup in the sink. "I sure hope that we can see some more hustle out there," she said, turning to look at Ranma. "Especially from you, Ranma."  
  
"Why me?" Ranma asked warily.  
  
"Because you're the poster girl, of course!" Nabiki said. "Well, a poster girl, really. Akari and Katsunishiki are gonna be helping you."  
  
Ranma stared at Nabiki. "What's a sumo pig gonna do as a poster girl?" She looked at the pig out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think he's even a girl!"  
  
In response, Katsunishiki glared at her and rose up on his hindquarters, puffing out its chest to look more intimidating. The effect was enough to make Ranma swallow hard, and reconsider her words.  
  
"You don't need to have a pretty face to sell a product," Nabiki replied, "just a memorable one. And you gotta admit, there's not much else around here that would be about as memorable as Katsunishiki here.” She gave the sumo pig a bit of a smile, which caused him to puff his chest out even further.  
  
Then Nabiki turned to look at Ranma. "I'm expecting a tough fight out there today. I bet you would be too." She grabbed her towel and swimsuit. "So let's see some real hustle out there today, huh?"  
  
Ranma was silent as Nabiki walked into the bathroom, locking it behind her. "If she wants hustle, fine! I'll give her all the hustle she wants!"

“That’s the spirit, Ranchan!” Ukyou said, clenching a fist. “Today, we’re sure to leave Fujinami choking in our dust! She won’t even see it coming!”  
  


* * *

  
Ryuunosuke awoke with a slight headache, and a strange tightness constricting over her chest. Which was a funny thing, since she never slept with her sarashi on, and she definitely didn't sleep with it on last night. Then the rest of what happened last night drifted into her mind.

Ryuunosuke cracked open one eye, and saw a tide of deep brown in front of her face. Shinobu was clinging tightly against her front, her head tucked under Ryuunosuke's jaw. Which probably explained that tight feeling around her chest, she thought to herself.  
  
After some moments acclimatising to the light, Ryuunosuke opened both eyes, and looked around. The first rays of dawn were just filtering in through the blinds of the bedroom. Lum, Ran and even Sakura were slumbering in their own futons.  
  
Ryuunosuke groaned as she gazed down at the curtain of brown hair resting against her chest. She was pretty sure that there was a wet spot growing on the collar of her pajama top. And even then, that was hardly a reason to try and dislodge Shinobu so she could get up.  
  
Nevertheless, Ryuunosuke prodded at Shinobu's cheek gently. "Shinobu," she hissed in her ear. "Shinobu! I need to get up now!" The prod turned into a pinch. "Shinobu, wake up!"  
  
Shinobu stirred slightly, nuzzling against Ryuunosuke's shoulder. But she just wrapped her arms tighter around Ryuunosuke's chest, murmuring softly.  
  
"Dammit, Shinobu..." Ryuunosuke growled as she clumsily sat up in the futon, lifting Shinobu up against her. She grunted as she slid her hands underneath Shinobu, and got up to her feet, carrying Shinobu in an awkward bridal carry. Slowly, Ryuunosuke lugged Shinobu over to the door, opening in with a hand, and carried her out of the bedroom in what could possibly be the most strangest morning of her life.  
  
Thankfully, Shinobu moved her hands, wrapping them around Ryuunosuke's shoulders. It made her easier to carry, but it still meant that she still needed to be carried around. And it meant that Shinobu's face was only a couple of inches away from hers, which was pretty damned distracting. Now she was trying to fight the urge to kiss those pretty lips...  
  
Out in the kitchen, Nagisa was standing in front of the rice cooker, watching the steam rise with bleary eyes. As Ryuunosuke passed by, Nagisa turned to look at her with a smile.  
  
"Good morning Ryuunos..." Nagisa trailed off as she saw Shinobu clinging tightly to Ryuunosuke's shoulders.  
  
Ryuunosuke felt a cold sweat start to break out as she stared at Nagisa's face. This was probably not the ideal way to be greeting your fiance in the morning.  
  
Nagisa's face was completely still, unreadable, as she gazed at Shinobu clinging to Ryuunosuke. Staring at that face, Ryuunosuke could imagine practically every emotion possible from that moment, from silent resignation to murderous rage.  
  
Slowly, Nagisa stepped forward, up to Ryuunosuke and Shinobu. Ryuunosuke gripped Shinobu tighter, desperately wishing that Shinobu would wake up any second now. Any second now!  
  
Nagisa reached out, and roughly pinched Shinobu's cheek. And tugged.  
  
Shinobu's eyes flew open.  
  
Nagisa grinned down at her, inches away from her face.  
  
Shinobu shrieked at the top of her lungs, and slapped Nagisa hard across the cheek. The next few seconds were non-stop flailing as Ryuunosuke struggled to keep her balance, Nagisa stumbled backwards from the slap, and Shinobu still was struggling to escape.  
  
Ryuunosuke landed hard on the floor, Shinobu sprawling out on top of her, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Nagisa landed hard against the kitchen counter, barely managing to miss the rice cooker.  
  
The bedroom door opened, and Lum and Ran dashed out into the living room. They stopped in surprise at the scene in front of them.  
  
Shinobu blinked down at Ryuunosuke, her eyes wide. "Ryuunosuke-kun?" She looked around the living room. "What am I doing out here? Where's the bed?" She stared back down at Ryuunosuke in confusion.  
  
Ryuunosuke could feel her face start to burn. "You wouldn't let me go. I had to carry you out of bed." She looked away, feeling completely embarrassed. "I thought maybe if I carried you around a bit, you would've let me go."  
  
Shinobu stared at Ryuunosuke for a good long while. Everyone was staring at Ryuunosuke, all on tenterhooks about what was going to happen next.  
  
Then Shinobu burst into giggles, sliding off Ryuunosuke and flopping to her side on the floor. She curled up into a ball as the giggles turned into outright laughter.

Ryuunosuke knelt there, staring at the ground. She tried to ignore Shinobu's laughter, but it was hard, because she was like, right there in front of her. She also tried to ignore the tears of shame gathering in her eyes, but that was just as hard.  
  
Shinobu, for her part, seemed to have noticed, because she raised herself up to Ryuunosuke's level, and leaned in against her, hugging her gently. "I'm so sorry! It's just so absurd!" She held on to Ryuunosuke as she tried to control her giggles, burying her face into her shoulder.  
  
"Well, I think it's very gallant and romantic!" Ran said as she stepped out into the living room. "I bet Lum would like to see Darling do that for her in the morning!"  
  
"Ran-chan!" Lum blushed deeply. "That doesn't make any sense!" She looked over at Ryuunosuke, who was still staring at the floor. "Oh, don't be like that! Shinobu wasn't laughing at you like that! She still loves you!"  
  
"Oh, Ryuunosuke-kun..." Shinbou slid her arms under Ryuunosuke's and hugged tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to take that the wrong way."  
  
Ryuunosuke sighed deeply. "Fine, whatever." She rose up from the floor, slipping out of Shinobu’s arms. "I'm gonna go get ready now." She quickly went into the bathroom, and within moments, the rush of the shower could be heard.  
  
Shinobu turned to look at all the people standing around the living room, all of them staring at her. She flushed deeply with embarrassment, and got to her feet again. "What's for breakfast?"  
  
When Ryuunosuke returned from the shower, she was dressed in her black Hamachaya T-shirt and jean shorts. Shinobu and Nagisa were finishing making breakfast, grilling some fish to go with the rice. Ataru was leaning over the counter, watching them intently. Lum was watching Ataru as well, jealous sparks of electricity flying from her body. Mendou was staring out of the window, concern written all over his face.  
  
Ryuunosuke went over to Mendou, arms crossed. "What're you looking all down about?" She peered out the window, but could see nothing but the calm ocean and Sakura leaning against the balcony, staring off into the horizon.  
  
"Have you ever contemplated such a sight, Ryuunosuke-san?" Mendou asked, his eyes faraway. "Something so beautiful that you couldn't ever see anywhere else?"  
  
"Well yeah," Ryuunosuke said. "That's one thing I like about living on the beach." She gazed out into the horizon, contemplating the deep blue waters ahead of her. "You get a lot of moments where you can just stop and admire the sight in front of you."  
  
Mendou nodded. "Of course, Ryuunosuke-san. In this world, the most wonderful views can only be found on the beach."  
  
Ryuunosuke nodded back. "Yeah, I can get that." She gazed back at the sea once more. "You certainly have a good view out here, Mendou."  
  
"Of course," Mendou replied. "That gorgeous figure... That flawless complexion... Those long legs..."  
  
Ryuunosuke blinked. Then she noticed Sakura leaning against the balcony, her hair flowing in the wind. And almost immediately, everything fell into place.  
  
"Such a beautiful woman, dressed in such a revealing way..." Mendou went on, clenching a fist so hard that it was shaking. "Ah, to behold such a sight as this on my own property! I am so blessed to be born so wealthy!"  
  
Ryuunosuke scowled at Mendou. "You do know that she's, like, a decade older than you, right?" Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer. "And she's already engaged?"  
  
Mendou just laughed, loudly. "Oh, ye of little faith! Have you even met Sakura's fiance?  Even with his advanced age, he has nothing that can match my style and good looks! How ridiculous it is, to think that he could ever hope to land a beauty like that!"  
  
Ryuunosuke's scowl deepened, and she turned away from Mendou, stalking back to the kitchen. Maybe she was better off not talking to Mendou outside of work hours. Otherwise, she was probably going to end up losing brain cells or something.  
  
Shinobu smiled as Ryuunosuke stepped up beside her. "Ryuunosuke-kun! You seem to be getting along with Mendou-san back there. He was even laughing!" She glanced over at Mendou, still looking out the window, a smile on his face.  
  
Ryuunosuke gave Shinobu a strained smile. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." She quickly opened the fridge, and grabbed some spring onions to chop up for making miso soup. "I'm surprised that he managed to not hit on me back there."  
  
"That means he's getting better!" Shinobu said brightly. "I knew he would mature someday."  
  
Ryuunosuke snorted as she picked up a knife and started chopping. "That's probably still gonna be a long, long time."

While spooning out the rice into various bowls, Nagisa stepped over to Ryuunosuke, who was busy grilling the fish. "So what's gonna be the plan for today, anyway?" he asked her. "Considering yesterday's performance, we're bound to get a lot of people in straight out the gate. Especially considering that Sakura-san's coming for lunch today..."  
  
Ryuunosuke paused in front of the grill. "I dunno, I thought of a few ideas. Maybe something to attract more than just people looking for something to eat." She pulled out the minigrill, and plucked several freshly grilled sides of mackerel and salmon onto a plate. "I am getting a little bored of just making the usual okonomiyaki. I need to stand out a little bit."  
  
"Stand out?" Lum asked, hovering over Nagisa and Ryuunosuke's heads. "Stand out how?"  
  
Ryuunosuke paused, and turned to look at Lum, still unloading and loading the minigrill. For a moment, Ryuunosuke just stared at Lum in silence. Lum stared back in confusion, wondering what had gotten into Ryuunosuke.  
  
Then Ryuunosuke turned back to Nagisa. "Yeah, I think I got an idea." She nodded over to Mendou, who was still watching Sakura as she made her way inside for breakfast. "Ask Mendou over there to bring us some extra stuff. Like chilli peppers, habaneros or something. Something really spicy."  
  
Lum's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Chilli peppers? Habaneros? I love those!" She swooped around excitedly, giggling. "They're just about the only Earth-born food that isn't anything other than bland!"  
  
Nagisa blinked in surprise, then looked at Ryuunosuke. "I think I might be getting the idea of what you got in mind." He gave Ryuunosuke a charming smile. "Leave it to me, Ryuunosuke-sama."  


* * *

  
After breakfast, everyone headed straight for the Hamachaya. The beach was already filling up with tourists, and Ryuunosuke wanted to be open as soon as possible. Her father's Hamachaya would be kept open for as long as possible, never pausing for breaks; a minute wasted, as her father would put it, is a customer lost. It was wise words from a man who usually could never draw a dime.

As soon as Ryuunosuke got inside the Hamachaya stall, she was off and running, setting up the griddle and the supplies for the long day ahead. There was a red plastic carrier bag full of goods. She smiled as she peered inside; it looks like the Mendous had pulled through for her.  
  
Shinobu stood at the grill, now wearing a cute pink bikini. She looked at the small red carrier bag. "What's that for, Ryuunosuke-kun?"  
  
Lum floated over Ryuunosuke and Shinobu, beaming from ear to ear. "It's the stuff we need for my personal take on okonomiyaki." Her eyes glittered as Ryuunosuke pulled out several plastic boxes full of various chili peppers, all chopped up ready for the grill.  
  
"We got jalapenos," Ryuunosuke said, "we got habaneros, we got Carolina Reapers and ghost peppers. We also got some more sriracha and some American-style hot sauce too." She drew out several bottles of hot sauce to stack with the chopped peppers. "Lum said she wanted something really spicy, so I just asked for the spiciest stuff that Mendou can get a hold of."  
  
"To tell the truth though, only these Carolina Reapers seem to do anything." Lum motioned to one box. "But Ryuunosuke thought it would be easier to offer softer options."  
  
"Could you really call habaneros a softer option?" Shinobu asked, slightly confused. "That's still really spicy! Spicier than most Earth people can handle!"  
  
"Well, Darling seems to handle the stuff I make just fine!" Lum replied.  
  
"Ataru-kun is a freak of nature," Shinobu said angrily, "so you can't use him as a reference point for the average human! Besides, isn't he always trying to avoid you whenever you're trying to cook him dinner?"  
  
Ryuunosuke rolled her eyes, anticipating the spat that was about to follow. She turned her attention instead to the whiteboards and marker pens that were supplied with the stalls. She only put out one the day before, with a basic menu written out on it. But now, with the new supplies, she decided to make a second one for the day's special.  
  
This second board was mostly taken up by a rather cute drawing of Lum done by Ran, that actually accurately managed to convey her down to a tee. At the top Ryuunosuke had written the words:  
  
**_TODAY'S SPECIAL: LUMCHAN-YAKI  
  
Spice Level 1--Jalapenos: 450yen _ **

**_Spice Level 2--Habaneros: 500yen_ **

**_Spice Level MAX--Carolina Reapers: 800yen (warning, extremely dangerous) (Lum-chan's favourite)_ **  
  
She hung the little whiteboard next to the first, taking pride of place as her personal Hamachaya's first speciality. The Lumchan-yaki would also be the Hamachaya's greatest challenge yet, both for its customers and its staff.  
  
Ryuunosuke grinned as she noticed some curious faces peering into the stall, wondering about what was going on. Lum turned from arguing with Shinobu to float over to the curious people and chat with them. She was already trying to sell them on the Lumchan-yaki, Ryuunosuke guessed.

Before long, there was already a line starting to form outside the front of the Hamachaya. Which meant that whatever magic that Lum was working out there was working like a charm. Which also meant, of course, that Ryuunosuke was probably going to be in for another busy day.  
  
Over in Ucchan's, Ukyou presided over the morning preparations for the day. Already Akari had understood about what she needed to do to be a poster girl, her pig Katsunishiki also lending in a trotter or two to try and help gather customers. For her, it was slipping into a style that she was always used to.

Ukyou had gotten a hold of some genuine Black Berkshire pork a couple of days ago, a special from one of her usual meat suppliers, and she had been looking for an excuse to use the stuff ever since. Now that she had the Fujinamis right beside her, trying to compete, now was as good a time as any.  
  
Now, alongside the usual menu, there was another menu board, blaring out the day's special: Kurobuta Okonomiyaki, with thick slices of the Black Berkshire pork on top, at 850 yen for a super deluxe size. It would be sure to be a hell of an attention-getter, especially as she drilled the pronunciation of "Berkshire" into Ranma and Akari on the way into the stall.  
  
Ranma was wearing one of her usual sporty one-pieces, as usual: a bright pink one with thin straps. Akari, on the other hand, was going for a simple white bikini with a colourful sarong around her hips. Akari in particular seemed to be really excited to be working as a poster girl; she had never really done anything beyond working at her pig farm before.  
  
Konatsu was standing ready by the yatai, dressed in her shirt and sarong, looking at Ukyou expectantly. "Everything's ready, Ukyou-sama. We should be open in a couple of minutes."  
  
Ukyou turned towards the small analogue clock hanging against the wall. "Looks like it's time for us to open up!" She turned towards her poster girls. "Get out there and start bringing in those customers!"  
  
Ranma and Akari nodded, and then they were out the door and on the beach, looking for potential customers. Akane and Konatsu watched in silence as the two girls disappeared, then fanned out to the tables, ready for the first influx of customers. Everyone was ready.  
  
Ukyou grinned, and ignited the flames beneath the yatai's griddle. Within minutes, the shining surface of the griddle would be red hot, and she would be ready for battle. And Fujinami wouldn't know what hit her.  
  
Out on the beach, many of the people were surprised to see a giant pig wandering about the sands, close to where the tide was. Some of the children ran up to the pig, laughing and shouting as they circled the massive animal.  
  
A pair of massive banners were draped over its flanks, on each of which was written in big block characters:

 **_THE BEST PORK OKONOMIYAKI IS ONLY AT UCCHAN'S._  
**  
Some of the more philosophical beachgoers wondered if this was some kind of strange cosmic irony. If the pig would know what it was that he was advertising, he definitely wouldn't be happy to find out. The other beachgoers, on the other hand, just thought it was certainly an attention-getter.  
  
Katsunishiki, for his part, didn't really seem to care either way. He just wanted to do what his mistress had told him to do. Though he definitely preferred that he was able to do it without all these screaming children around him, circling like vultures.  
  
Meanwhile, Lum was floating over the beach, looking at the people gathered below. She had definitely noticed the pig shilling for their neighbours, given that he was big enough to draw attention wherever he would go.  
  
When it came to competing, Ryuunosuke had given her one simple policy: don't bother them, but watch your ass. As far as Ryuunosuke cared, she could afford to ignore Ukyou and make her own path. Unlike her father, who probably would be trying to sabotage her before they were even open, Ryuunosuke wanted to compete with Ukyou on an equal standing.  
  
Which was why Lum was floating above the beach, checking out spots of people she could swoop over to try and get their attention.  
  
Speaking of which, Lum already spotted some boys hanging out over by the west, over where that pig hadn't reached them yet. That was the perfect opportunity. In a matter of moments, Lum swooped down towards the boys, taking them by surprise. But when she hovered over their heads, gazing down at them, they quickly warmed up to her.  
  
"Hey guys!" Lum said, starting off on her practised patter. "Are you looking for something spicy for lunch?"  
  
The boys looked at each other, before giving Lum a grin. "Maybe? What're you offering?"  
  
Lum beamed. "I'm from the Hamachaya over there!" She pointed in the direction of the row of beachside stalls. "The white tent over there with the big blue banner. See it? Anyway, we're serving something pretty special over there. It's a special dish I came up with called the Lumchan-yaki!"  
  
The boys were somewhat interested after that. Even after Lum explained about the three types on offer, including her personal favourite Level MAX. Though she remembered to point out the various "normal" kinds of okonomiyaki on offer too.  
  
After Lum was finished with her pitch, the boys seemed certainly interested. "So where did you say this place was?" One of them asked.  
  
Lum just smiled. "I'll take you there right now! You better be quick, because there's a gonna be a real big line forming by now." She took one of the boys' hands, and floated off, leading them to the Hamachaya.  
  


* * *

  
Ryuunosuke quickly turned as Lum fluttered in through the door, grinning widely. She led a small gaggle of love-struck boys behind her, holding on to each other's hands or waistbands like a small chain of people.

"Have you got a few tables ready, Ryuunosuke?" Lum said, her smile impossibly bright. "I managed to catch all these boys by myself!"  
  
Ryuunosuke casually twirled a spatula in her hand, like the hilt of a dagger. "I'm sure we can fit 'em in somewhere, Lum. Just lead them to a table and let Shinobu take their orders, okay?"  
  
"Shinobu's still busy on the other end. But if you don't mind, I'm sure that could help."  
  
Ryuunosuke turned to see Sakura tying her hair up into a messy bun, a frilly apron around her waist. She blinked a little in surprise. "You too, Sakura-sensei? But I thought you were staying out of this."  
  
"I'm not 'staying out of this', Ryuunosuke." Sakura gave Ryuunosuke an irritated glare. "I wanted to have my lunch here, and your tightfisted fiance said that I should pay like all the others!"  
  
Behind Sakura's back, Ryuunosuke noticed that Nagisa was smirking at her in a decidedly not-nice fashion. She looked back at Sakura with half-lidded eyes. "Well, that's just how it works, y'know. I mean..." she scratched her cheek, looking away for a moment, "...you're one of the most beautiful women I know, but I don't give away my food to the first pretty face I see."  
  
Sakura scowled at Ryuunosuke, before turning to glare at Nagisa. "I should have warded this entire place against you. See how you like it." Her gaze was so laser-sharp that Ryuunosuke could swear that Nagisa was actually trembling.  
  
Ryuunosuke groaned, and nudged Sakura. "Look, Lum just brought in some new customers." She pointed towards a small grouping of tables, where Lum had seated her latest catch. "Go serve them, alright? And try to be a bit more friendly while you're at it."  
  
Sakura glowered at Ryuunosuke for a bit more, before turning towards the assortment of young men sitting at that table. As she approached, almost slinking towards the tables, Ryuunosuke could see their eyes become entranced. For some reason, it reminded her of the way some of the girls at school would look at her sometimes.  
  
Sakura stood at the table, a sort of friendly smile on her face. At least, Ryuunosuke kind of thought it was friendly; she had never seen Sakura really smile before. "Welcome to the Hamachaya. I'm Sakura. May I take your order?"  
  
The group of boys all looked at each other in confusion for a moment.  
  
Sakura's eye twitched slightly. "Don't tell me you didn't decide on what you wanted to eat already?" She paused for a long moment, waiting for an answer. Then she took a long heaving sigh, which made the boys sigh in response, which in turn made Ryuunosuke gag slightly.  
  
"If you're not going to decide on something to eat," Sakura said, a note of iron in her voice, "then I'm going to decide for you!" She turned towards Ryuunosuke at the griddle. "Ryuunosuke! Four of the Super Deluxe Okonomiyaki! And two of the fried rice!"  
  
Ryuunosuke cringed slightly, but looked over at the boys. "Yeah? Should I put it all on one plate for ya?"  
  
Sakura sighed, rubbing her shoulder gently. "If you would, my dear." She purred in such a way that would make an ice cube melt. "It would be such a pain to be carrying four plates at once!"  
  
The boys still sat there, entranced by Sakura's beauty. For all Ryuunosuke knew, none of them seemed to care that their waitress was picking their food for them.  
  
Ryuunosuke sighed as she oiled up the surface of her griddle. "Fine. Four Super Deluxe, two fried rice, coming right up!" And in a second, she was working again, spreading batter and veggies, frying eggs and noodles, smearing sauce.  
  
Sakura smirked as she walked back over to the griddle. "Not bad for a first-timer, huh?"  
  
Ryuunosuke just scowled and pointed Sakura over to another table of freshly seated customers. As Sakura slinked her way over, grinning all the while, she got back to work.  
  
Once again, it was another busy day at the Hamachaya.

 

* * *

  
Of course, that didn't mean that things were slouching at Ucchan's. As Ukyou had figured, her new Kurobuta Okonomiyaki was a bit of a hit, even at premium pricing. Kasumi, Akane and Konatsu were barely just keeping up with demand, and more and more people were filing in thanks to the work being done outside.  
  
Quietly beside the grill, Nabiki watched the comings and goings of their rival out through the canopy window, only looking away to flick through an old-style abacus. Ukyou found the sight kind of funny, usually because most people still looked at her and thought of her as some money grubber from Osaka. Ukyou never liked those people, especially because she wasn’t from Osaka.

"Hey, Nabiki!" Ukyou said, after slinging the last of an order of Kurobuta Okonomiyaki onto some plates for Akane to serve out. "How's Fujinami doing over there? I bet their customers are slowing to a trickle by now!"  
  
Nabiki snorted, pushing over another bead on her abacus. "Sorry to disappoint you, Ucchan. Our esteemed competition is lagging behind, but not by much. They've still got a substantial line around their little stall."  
  
Ukyou blinked, and dashed over to the window. True to Nabiki's words, the line for the Hamachaya was curling around the back of the stall. "You gotta be kiddin' me! That no-name fraud is still packing them in!" Her face started to burn as she gazed at the growing line. "I don't understand how they can still be drawing them in like that!"  
  
"You want my honest advice?" Nabiki asked, crossing her legs at the knee. "Let it go. You're making bank here, and I don't want you ruining your business just because you want to get back at somebody who barely knows about you. Have a little more respect for yourself."  
  
Ukyou glared at Nabiki as she returned to her grill. "That's a laugh, somebody who makes her living selling sneaky snaps of Ranchan telling me that I lack self-respect..."  
  
Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "Remind me who it was who just last night came pleading to me about trying to 'defeat' Fujinami again?"  
  
"Now, now, girls." Kasumi came over, metal serving tray held against her. "I thought you would be working together more nicely." She looked over at Nabiki. "Well, I thought you would be working as a waitress, too..."  
  
"Why should I?" Nabiki said, waving her hand dismissively. "You, Akane-chan and Konatsu-san are doing plenty by yourselves, I would probably just be getting in the way..."  
  
Kasumi continued to stare at Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki's face became slightly strained. "Besides, I'm doing plenty right here, sorting through the profits and keeping tabs on our competitors. I mean, I couldn't _possibly_ ..."  
  
Ukyou joined in staring at Nabiki.  
  
The strain started to grow on Nabiki's face as both girls gazed at her. "I couldn't _possibly_ ... I mean, in this outfit?" She pointed to her rather attractive red bikini.  
  
Ukyou reached into the yatai, and pulled out a frilly white apron, holding it out in front of Nabiki.  
  
Nabiki deflated, a look of pure despair on her face. "What did I ever do to you, Kuonji?"  
  
"Just put on the damn apron," Ukyou said, "and get to work."  
  
Moments later, Akane was somewhat surprised to see Nabiki taking orders from customers. "Sis? I thought you were doing the accounts."  
  
"Apparently," Nabiki said testily, "I didn't do them good enough."  
  


* * *

  
Over in the Hamachaya, Ryuunosuke was still busy at work. To her surprise, Sakura seemed to be even bigger a hit with the customers than the Lumchan-yaki was. Usually, Ryuunosuke didn't expect the waitstaff to be a draw. Though in retrospect, the waitstaff usually consisted of herself and her father, which might have coloured her opinion a little.  
  
Even so, there were still some brave souls that would come in and order a Lumchan-yaki. Most of them ordered a Level 1, with some here and there ordering a Level 2. Nobody seemed to have the guts to order a MAX Level yet, which suited Ryuunosuke just fine. She had no idea what kind of safety precautions she would need to take for that.  
  
As Ryuunosuke served out the last of the okonomiyaki cooking on the griddle, she took a moment to breathe, wiping the oil from her spatulas and griddle, before stretching her arms out. Out the window beside her she could see what was going on at Ucchan's next door. Another long line, as usual; it seemed that they were more popular than anyone else on the beach, as far as Ryuunosuke could tell.  
  
Shinobu came up to the griddle, stretching a little bit. "How are things going? You look like you've been sweating buckets out here!"  
  
Ryuunosuke nodded. "Yeah, that's summer for ya." She wiped her brow absently. "When you've spent most of your life on the beach here, you get used to it."  
  
Shinobu nodded, heading over to the coolers. "You'll be needing a drink, then. Otherwise you might dehydrate yourself or something." She rooted through the cans and bottles. "Would you like some cola, or ramune? Maybe just some water?"  
  
"Hey, wait just a second here!" Ryuunosuke said, "I can't take a drink from there! That's supposed to be for the customers!"  
  
"It's okay!" Shinobu said, returning with two bottles of cola in hand. "You're running the place, aren't you?"  
  
"Come on, Shinobu..." Ryuunosuke gave Shinobu a pleading look. "My old man would never let me take a drink without paying for it..."  
  
Shinobu just sighed. "Well first of all, your father's not here right now. It’s just us. And second, I imagine he'd just take a drink for himself behind your back." She held out the bottle of cola to Ryuunosuke. "Come on, take it. It's only two hundred yen, after all..."  
  
Ryuunosuke looked at the offered bottle for a long while. Thirst warred with her honesty for several seconds, before just barely winning out.  
  
"I guess I could..." Ryuunosuke murmured, taking the bottle from Shinobu's hand. "But you better earn that two hundred yen back today." She popped the top open on the edge of her griddle, casually catching it in her hand.  
  
Shinobu smiled brightly at Ryuunosuke. "Well, that doesn't seem too hard, does it?"

Ryuunosuke smirked, and took a long drink.  
  


* * *

   
At that moment, Lum came darting in once more, grinning widely. "I got some more for you, Ryuunosuke!" She turned to face the front as some familiar faces came pouring in: Mendou, Ataru, and Lum's four creepy fanboys. As the gaggle gathered in front of Lum, the four geeks each put on a disturbingly wide smile.  
  
"I was wondering whether you guys were coming over for lunch," Ryuunosuke said, oiling up her griddle once more. "You better get them over to a table quick, Lum." She scraped the excess oil across the searing hot metal. "And make sure they don't get into trouble or anything."  
  
Lum nodded, and floated over to her group of six. "Just follow me, and we'll get you boys seated right away." She reached forward to try and grab Ataru's arm...  
  
And the next moment, Ataru was squashed flat beneath several different people, as Megane's boys surged forward and piled into him. As the five struggled, Mendou smoothly stepped forward and took Lum's hand.  
  
"Guide the way, Lum-san."  
  
The violent struggle immediately paused the second that Ataru noticed Mendou stepping forward; long enough that Ataru could break free and get to his feet. "Yeah, yeah, just show us where to go already."  
  
Lum sighed and floated over to an empty set of tables. "Here you go..." She reached forward and dragged one table to sit flush with the other. "Table for six!"  
  
Mendou quickly went to the other table, grabbing it by its edges. "Allow me, milady..." But at the same time that he pulled the table back, Ataru grabbed the other side and pushed. And he pushed a lot more faster and harder than Mendou expected.  
  
The result was that the tables managed to catch Mendou's fingers in between them, quite painfully. Painful enough to make Mendou scream in a very undignified manner.  
  
Lum frowned as Mendou danced around the tables with gritted teeth, clutching at his bruised fingers. "I could have gotten that other table just fine!" She floated over to Ataru. "Well, Darling, what would you like?"  
  
Ataru barely got the chance to open his mouth before he was shoved out of the way, stumbling into Mendou and sending the two of them toppling to the floor like Jenga towers. Instead, Megane stood before Lum, a wild look in his eyes.  
  
"Anything that Lum-san likes will be fine by me!" He blurted out, a little too quickly and enthusiastically for someone ordering food.  
  
"Y-yeah!" Perm added. "We want whatever it is that you wanna eat! So you could eat it with us!"  
  
Lum looked between Perm and Megane, and then over at Kakugari and Chibi, who only nodded their heads. Then she looked down at the human tangle made of Ataru and Mendou. "What about you, Darling?"  
  
Ataru craned his neck from around Mendou's back. "Just gimme the normal Super Deluxe. I'm not feeling like having the special today." He paused for a moment, looking over at Mendou's slightly dazed face. "I guess Mendou's having the same as me..."  
  
Lum scribbled in her notebook. "So that's four of the MAX Level Lumchan-yaki, and two of the normal Super Deluxe." She looked down at Ataru, still struggling to disengage himself from Mendou. "I'll be right on it! Will you be okay there?"  
  
"Oh yeah," Ataru replied, straining to get an arm free. "Just peachy!"  
  
Lum nodded happily, and floated over to Ryuunosuke, tearing the order page from her notebook. "Four Level MAX Lumchan-yaki, two Super Deluxe!"  
  
Ryuunosuke's head jerked up. "Level MAX?" She asked incredulously. "Four of them?!"  
  
Lum just nodded. "Yep! Those four boys said they wanted anything I'd like for lunch, so I picked the okonomiyaki you created for me!" She twirled happily in the air over the griddle. "I can't wait! It's the first time today that someone's ordered a Level MAX!" She rose up in the air higher, still twirling. "Go ahead and cook another Level MAX for me, Ryuunosuke!"  
  
Then Lum darted off, out into the sunshine once more. Ryuunosuke sighed as she watched Lum go. No wonder people seemed to love the girl so much. That bright nature never failed to light up a room.  
  
But after that, Ryuunosuke gazed down at the grill. No time for love or fun right now. Now it was time for business. Serious business.  
  
She ran the edges of her spatulas over the grill once more, feeling out the distances she'd need to be able to pull the order off. After all, making a Level MAX Lumchan-yaki had risks that not even the other Lumchan-yaki levels did, and she wanted to make this just right.  
  
Ryuunosuke grabbed the batter jug and poured out seven identical circles of batter on the hot surface, and spread them out to the required size. Two of the batter circles sat together, spaced exactly two inches away from the other five; a precaution Ryuunosuke took to avoid contamination. As the batter started to cook up, she spread the customary shredded kelp, shredded cabbage, tempura bits and so on.

But for the five circles grouped together, that wasn't all she added. For those, she popped the top off of a small tupperware container filled with finely chopped Carolina Reapers. She carefully spooned some out of the box, and spread the mass of red chillies across each of the okonomiyaki, a fine layer that coloured each pile bright red.

Ryuunosuke took extra care to make sure that none of the peppers or their juices touched the lone two Super Deluxes, lest the people having those get a nasty surprise part way through their meal. The very thought of it gave her chills, and made the palms of her hands sweat.

Ryuunosuke added in the rest of the ingredients, with some bulgogi steak over the Lumchan-yaki in place of the Super Deluxe's thinly sliced pork. She flipped the okonomiyaki quickly, keeping the two groups as far from each other as possible, to the point that she used one spatula for the Super Deluxes, and the other for the Lumchan-yaki, using a pair of cooking chopsticks in place of the other spatula.

Then came the yakisoba, fried beside their respective okonomiyaki. The noodles for the Lumchan-yaki got a fine dusting of ground shichimi pepper. And instead of the sea urchin, the Lumchan-yaki got shrimp. Nagisa told Ryuunosuke that Lum had originally wanted to have ghost peppers in with the noodles, but Nagisa vetoed: there was more than enough in amongst the cabbage inside the okonomiyaki, and it didn't really need to be on top.

Finally, Ryuunosuke added egg to each, squashed flat under her spatulas, before noodles and okonomiyaki were placed on top, and then flipped over. Then a thick layer of sauce was spread over the top of each. The Lumchan-yaki also each got a generous drizzle of sriracha sauce, and another dusting of shichimi pepper.

"Order up!" Ryuunosuke said, wiping off her spatulas. "Five Lumchan-yaki, Level MAX! Two Super Deluxe!"

In a flash, the seven okonomiyaki were each swiped off the griddle, and deposited on plates arranged in a line in front, ready to be carried over. Lum floated over to the griddle, a hungry smile on her face.

"Oh wow," she said, leaning in close to the Lumchan-yaki. "They all look so beautiful..."

"Yeah," Ryuunosuke said, wiping down her griddle once more. "If those guys around you can't make it, I guess you could finish theirs off for them." She kept her eyes trained away from Lum and that table, not wanting to witness the carnage that would happen.

Shinobu approached the griddle warily, taking the two Super Deluxes on her own little serving tray. "Remember, Ryuunosuke-kun," she said, her face set in stone. "No matter what happens, remember that they asked for this."

As Lum and Shinobu carried the orders over, the table (or rather, tables) were uncomfortably tense: Ataru and Mendou sat opposite each other, each eyeing the other warily. Megane sat to Ataru's left, while Perm sat at his right; Chibi sat at Mendou's right, and Kakugari sat at his left. None of them spoke to each other. None of them even bothered to look, preferring to train their eyes elsewhere.

But when Lum arrived at the tables, all the tension quickly faded away. Lum's Guards all collectively started waving and cheering as Lum drew closer, and Mendou seemed genuinely excited. Only Ataru, having watched what Ryuunosuke was doing as she cooked the Lumchan-yaki, wasn't smiling. Instead, he looked more worried and irritated than anything else.

The cheering stopped as Lum placed the Lumchan-yaki in front of each of the four Guards, and they actually got to see their meal for the first time. Of course, it didn't seem that different to the usual okonomiyaki, aside from all of the red over it. But it was different enough to give them all pause.

Ataru just grunted as Shinobu placed his Super Deluxe in front of him, while Mendou stared down at his in indignation.

Shinobu noticed, however, a concerned look on her face. "What's wrong, Mendou-san? I thought you'd like the Super Deluxe."

"I suppose you could say that," Mendou said, "but that wasn't what I ordered, and you know it. If it wasn't for that blustering idiot in front of me, I would be enjoying a Lumchan-yaki like these gentlemen here!"

"Yeah," Ataru said, snapping apart a pair of disposable chopsticks. "Enjoying. That's the word I'd use for anything that Lum put her name to."

Mendou glared at Ataru. " _You_ , with your uncultured palate and disdain for Lum-san?" He looked over at Chibi. "And _you_ , aren't you going to eat that?"

Chibi looked down at his Lumchan-yaki warily. "Well..."

Shinobu's sighed deeply, imagining where it was going to go. "Chibi, you can have the Super Deluxe if you give Mendou your Lumchan-yaki, okay?"

Chibi quickly nodded, and the two plates were switched. Ataru smirked at him mirthlessly as he said a quick " _itadakimasu_ " and started eating.

"Smart man!" He said, before digging into his Super Deluxe. Beside him, Lum sat at the edge of the table, already taking a big mouthful of her own Lumchan-yaki.

Mendou snorted, and took up his own chopsticks. "You people are cowards, to not enjoy this with Lum-san by your side!"

Megane nodded, grabbing his own chopsticks. "Of course! How bad could this _possibly_ be?"

And with that, Mendou and the rest of the guards each took a big mouthful of Lumchan-yaki.

For the sake of illumination, the Carolina Reaper pepper that Ryuunosuke used as a primary ingredient in the Level MAX Lumchan-yaki had once taken pride of place as the world's hottest chilli pepper, as recorded by the Guinness Book of Records in 2013. The heat levels of such a pepper are usually recorded by the Scoville Scale, which measures the intensity of heat.

The jalapeno peppers that Ryuunosuke used in the Level 1 Lumchan-yaki would on average measure around five thousand to fifteen thousand Scovilles, which is incredibly hot in itself. The habanero peppers used for the Level 2 usually register around the fifty thousand to one hundred thousand scale, which is an significant step up in heat.

Carolina Reapers were officially measured to have around 1.5 million Scovilles on average, but could go up to 2.2 million on the scale. For reference, that’s about on par with law-enforcement-grade pepper spray. So to say that the Level MAX Lumchan-yaki was much hotter than Mendou or the Guards thought would be putting it lightly, to say the very least.

Megane emitted a strange, strangled squeal, his head suddenly jerking up like he had been zapped by Lum's lightning, bits of okonomiyaki spilling out of his mouth. His eyes were wide open and quivering behind his glasses, and his face was already starting to turn red. Across from Ataru, Mendou had a similar expression on his face. And Ataru and Lum didn't have to look to know that Perm and Kakugari probably had similar expressions on their faces, too.

"What's wrong?" Ataru asked, a sleazy smile on his sauce-smeared face. "Don't you like your Lumchan-yaki?"

Megane turned to glare at Ataru, somehow, even as his eyes seemed to dilated back and forth. His jaw shuddered and ground as he chewed up the burning mass of Lumchan-yaki in his mouth, like the grinding gears of some rusted old machine, before he forced the accursed lump of food down his gullet.

And then Megane's reddened lips twisted into a demented slash of a smile. "Anything Lum-san likes... I _love_!"

Ataru could only watch in horror as Megane jammed another chunk of his Lumchan-yaki into his mouth, and started chewing. In front of him, Mendou was doing the same thing, his handsome face twisted and stretched and reddened by the unrelenting burn.

Perm rocketed out of his seat and dashed out of the Hamachaya, grabbing at his mouth with both hands. Kakugari took two more mouthfuls, but slid bonelessly out of his chair and flopped on the floor. Chibi quietly murmured a grateful “gochisousama” before sneaking away from the table, trying not to be noticed. Ataru and Lum’s plates were picked clean, left forgotten in the face of the show they had right in front of them.

Only Mendou and Megane soldiered on, bloodshot eyes fixed on their plates, skin turning from pink to puce. Most of the other patrons were now watching the two, in various mixtures of amusement and horror as they very slowly worked away at their Lumchan-yaki.

With the last mouthfuls, they slammed their empty plates on the tabletop, and loudly recited " _gochisousamadeshita!_ " Then they both stood up, bowed respectfully to one another, bowed respectfully to the confused Lum, and walked away from the table, side by side.

And then they both collapsed on the floor, flat on their faces, still side by side.

Ryuunosuke sighed as she watched people crowd around the two prone bodies. “Guess this must mean something. But if it does, I don’t even want to know.”

Moments later, while Sakura dragged Mendou and Megane's unconscious bodies outside, Ran fluttered in with a bright smile on her face. "Ryuunosuke-kun!" She sang out, leading a green-haired young man wearing a tiger-striped jumpsuit inside. "Rei's here!"

Ryuunosuke turned to look at the two, somewhat surprised. "Rei's here?" She looked over Rei, appraising him from foot to toe, then looked back at Ran. "Alright, bring him in. I'm gonna go check my stores for supplies."

Ran beamed as she led Rei over to an empty table. Every pair of eyes seemed to follow them, ranging from jealous, to entranced, to outright lustful. Ran didn't seem to even care, if she noticed at all. She just wanted to hold on to Rei's arm as tightly as she could. As for Rei? Well, food is food, no matter who makes it.

Ryuunosuke watched Rei being sat at his table, and quickly remembered all the times she had seen Ran lugging around massive hampers that looked almost twice the size of her body. She always insisted they were for her boyfriend, every last bit of it; Ryuunosuke once asked if Ran had anything in there for herself, but she just grinned and shook her head. She usually had a quick snack by herself, before she met with him for their picnics.

So if a typical dinner for the guy looked to be twice Ran's body weight in mass, Ryuunosuke didn't want to take any chances. No matter how much he was willing to pay, she wanted to play it safe.

Ryuunosuke popped open the big cooler at the back of the shop, which was packed to fullness with bags of all the necessary ingredients she needed to make okonomiyaki for the day, along with several massive chunks of ice for the shaved ice maker. Unfortunately, at that moment, all she could see was the ice, and a single bag of beansprouts.

Shinobu came up behind Ryuunosuke, and peered into the cooler. And then she swallowed hard. "Did we go through all our stock?" She asked. "This quickly?" She looked over at Ryuunosuke, who was still staring down at the almost empty cooler. "Ryuunosuke-kun?"

Nagisa quickly dashed to Ryuunosuke's side, peering down. "Oh my," he said, his voice squeaking slightly. "This is... This is really bad."

Shinobu waved a hand in front of Ryuunosuke's eyes. "Ryuunosuke-kun?" No reaction. Then she looked at Nagisa. "I'll go get Mendou for help! Hang on!" Then she dashed outside of the Hamachaya, in search of Mendou.

Ryuunosuke continued to stare at the cooler silently. Her mind, once again, was lost in a blaze of emotions: on one side, there was elation that she was so popular that she had run out of supplies this early on in the day. On the other side was panic, on having to either close, or take okonomiyaki off the menu, both of which would result in lost sales. In her mind's eye, she could already see the image of Ukyou and her okonomiyaki, receding away into the distance, a plateau that would be more and more unreachable.  
  


* * *

  
After a minute of desperate rushing around, Shinobu finally managed to find Shutarou, resting on a deck chair under the shadow of a massive parasol, held up by one of his _kuromegane_ servants, clad in his usual black suit and tie. Another was next to him, fanning him with a massive rigid fan, and another was dabbing a cool wet towel on his forehead. All of this, of course, was compounded by the state of his face, formerly handsome, now puffed out like baked rice, red and swollen.

"Mendou-san!" Shinobu called out, standing at the foot of his chair. "Mendou-san! Are you alright?"

"Just barely," one of the _kuromegane_ servants said. "Our young master is still recovering from the effects of that accursed okonomiyaki he ate."

"I'd hate to see what'll it be like later on," another _kuromegane_ said, a worrisome look on his face. "Spicy foods can only be worse coming out than going in."

Shinobu winced in sympathetic pain, having remembered one of her bad experiences with Lum's cooking. "It's just that we've run out of supplies at Hamachaya." She clasped her hands together, putting on her most sweetest expression of pleading possible. "All we have left is ice, and we can't just fob these people off with shaved ice! We don't even have sea urchin anymore!"

Shutarou's eye opened a crack, looking at Shinobu. Then he reached out, pushing away the hand pressing the towel to his forehead. "Githe me duh rajio!" He turned to glare at his servant. "Gibe me da rajio!"

The _kuromegane_ stared at Shutarou for a moment. Shinobu didn’t know if it was because of indecision, or if he was trying to process what Shutarou had just said. Then he picked up the shortwave radio for contacting home base, and handed it over.

Shutarou slowly raised himself up to sitting position, looking like a rusty old drawbridge being raised up, before he put the radio to his ear. "Thizz is Thudaro. Hamachaya needth rethuppy! Dubble prethious amound!" He was silent for a moment as the voice on the other end crackled. "Nether mine my boiy---my boithhthh---nethe min dat! Juss rethuppy now!" He scowled as the voice returned, then handed it back to the kuromegane servant.

Shinobu smiled happily. hands still clasped. "Mendou-san, you're wonderful!"

Shutarou just laughed good-naturedly in response, though his tongue was still so swollen that it came out funny, like a drain being unclogged.  
  


* * *

  
Back in the Hamachaya, Ryuunosuke stared down at the okonomiyaki that was almost done cooking on the grill. With the amount of ingredients she had to hand, she would have enough for one, maybe two more okonomiyaki. After that, there was gonna be no more okonomiyaki in the Hamachaya until tomorrow.

That was daunting in itself, but what made matters worse was that Rei had paid her not in yen, but in a tiny blue gem that seemed to glow. Ran had told her that it was a power crystal; one of the few units of value suitable for barter on multiple planets across the galaxy. Most of the explanations of galactic currency flew right over Ryuunosuke's head, but one thing was clear: the one little gem was a couple of decimal points more valuable than all of the most precious substance on the planet.

Which meant that Ryuunosuke was personally appointed to be Rei's oncall chef for the day. Which was difficult, when you only had enough supplies to make two more okonomiyaki left.

Thankfully, it was at that moment that Shinobu dashed back into the Hamachaya. "Ryuunosuke-kun! I told Mendou-san the problem, and he's handling everything right now!"

Ryuunosuke blinked at Shinobu, while covering the okonomiyaki with sauce and aonori. "Mendou? What's he doing now?"

Before Shinobu could explain, a low deep rumble started to fill the air. The ground below started to tremble, making tables and chairs rattle and shake across the floor.

Ryuunosuke and Shinobu exchanged glances, before Shinobu quickly dashed outside. Ryuunosuke swiped the okonomiyaki off the griddle and onto a plate, handing it over to Ran to take over to Rei, before following Shinobu outside.

What greeted Ryuunosuke outside wasn't what she had expected; the people on the beach had all stopped to see stare in terror at what looked to be a massive jet plane looming over their heads. It couldn't be anything else than a plane, mostly by the broad silhouette the machine made, though it looked much bigger than any plane that might have been seen before.

Shinobu was staring at the gigantic plane as well, but not in terror; rather, she seemed to be more elated than anything else.

And then, all of a sudden, the plane opened all of its thrusters to full and kicked in the afterburners; the only warning the crowds below got were the VTOL exhausts on the bottom of the plane opening up before they fired, kicking up a massive backwash behind it that blew a veritable sandstorm across the beach.

Ryuunosuke and Shinobu threw up their hands to shield their faces from the massive blast of sand washing over their bodies, the force buffeting their bodies back. Other beachgoers weren't so lucky, being bowled over by the blast of wind, and pinned down to the ground by the force.

As the wind died down, Ryuunosuke lowered her arms to watch the plane recede up into the sky, slowly shrinking into a black dot on the horizon.

Beside her, Shinobu looked up, scanning the sky above her. And then she hopped back, pointing up to the sky. "Look! Ryuunosuke-kun, the resupply is here!"

Ryuunosuke followed Shinobu's gaze, and saw a gigantic blue plastic cooler slowly falling to earth, hanging from a bright orange parachute. "Goddamn, those guys are fast."

Over at Ucchan's, Ukyou was left staring out of the doorway in shock. As the cooler touched down, Ryuunosuke and Shinobu quickly picked it up, and freed it from the parachute, before dashing back into the Hamachaya. Behind them, several beachgoers, having seen the entire display for themselves, followed behind them. They were clearly awestruck by such a display.

As the two girls carried the cooler back inside, Ukyou could swear that Ryuunosuke was smiling. Smiling at her stroke of luck. Happy.

And all Ukyou had to show for it was a whole load of sand across the floor and tables. The sand reached back, from the entrance inside the stall right to the back wall, just barely managing to miss the food supplies she kept in her cooler and her yatai. The okonomiyaki currently cooking on the griddle, however, were completely covered in sand. Ruined.

As she watched beachgoers flock into the Hamachaya after the two girls, something dark and vicious started to bubble up inside of Ukyou.

Konatsu quickly grabbed a broom, and started sweeping the sand out of the shop. She could see Ukyou trembling with rage and anger, but she didn't want to approach just yet. She didn't want to risk setting off the powderkeg, until she was definitely sure than she could defuse it.

After all the sand was swept away, Konatsu went over to the griddle. Thankfully, the oil reserves, the batter, the aonori, the bonito flakes, the sauce and the mayo were all covered, and therefore grit-free. The tempura bits, eggs, sliced pork and spring onion were kept under the griddle, safe from the sand. But the cabbage, the beansprouts, and her valuable kurobuta were definitely ruined, along with the okonomiyaki still cooking on the grill.

Konatsu slowly scraped the ruined okonomiyaki off the griddle, and scraped away the traces of sand from the metal. Everything contimated was piled into a trashbag, and tied up. Within a space of ten minutes, Ucchan's was back to its old self, with not a grain of sand anywhere.

That just left Ukyou to deal with.

"Ukyou-sama...?" Konatsu's voice was soft and hesitant. "I cleared away all of the sand. It should be okay now."

Ukyou turned to face Konatsu, and the sight of her face made the kunoichi gasp. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her eyes were red and puffy.

“Is the grill fired up, Konatsu?” There was a calm in Ukyou’s voice. But it didn’t sound like control. It sounded more like it was missing something. Missing emotion, maybe? “Is it hot enough? Is the food okay?”

“The Berkshire pork is ruined,” Konatsu replied, hanging her head. “Everything else is fine, though.”

Ukyou didn’t seem to respond. She just walked straight over to the griddle, and picked up her spatulas. “Let’s just finish today, then.” When she looked at Konatsu, there was a strange gleam in her eye that she couldn’t miss. “And then tomorrow, we crush them all.”

Konatsu blinked, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. “Y-yes, Ukyou-sama…”  
  


* * *

  
Ryuunosuke was hard at work again, dishing out as much okonomiyaki as she could to keep the line going and the people happy. With the batter and egg sizzling in the heat, Ryuunosuke could forget all of her troubles. She wanted to keep working. She had to keep working, to make herself worthy of the name Hamachaya.

But even then, something clawed at Ryuunosuke. When she and Shinobu grabbed the cooler from the parachute and carried it inside, Ryuunosuke turned her head and noticed Ukyou staring at them from the doorway into Ucchan’s. It was a look of pure shock and disappointment, so much so that it struck Ryuunosuke right in her feelings, and left a scar in her that didn’t seem to go away. But even then, she had to keep working.

As she worked, she caught snatches of conversation from the other customers. Most of them seemed the usual boring stuff. At least until a young couple passed by her griddle, chatting with each other.

“I feel so bad for the girls next door, though.” The young woman had said. “Being left in there, alone, with all their customers leaving them like that…”

“But it’s okay here, isn’t it?” The young man replied. “We got food here, haven’t we? We don’t have to worry about next door, Tanko-san! Well, except what you want to eat...”

And with those careless words, Ryuunosuke finally realised what was latched onto her ever since she saw that look on Ukyou’s face.

It was guilt. Pure, unabashed guilt.

Mendou helped her where it mattered back there. But she didn’t know if he was willing to go to such trouble for Ukyou, too. Even if he could afford to do it, he could easily just refuse. So even though both girls shared the same beach, that meant Ryuunosuke still had an unfair advantage.

Ryuunosuke could imagine what her father might do in a similar situation. He wouldn’t have cared one bit about what anyone else thought about a single thing he did. He barely even cared anything about how his daughter felt about anything. But Ryuunosuke couldn’t leave it off like that; she wanted to redress the balance.

Ryuunosuke plated up the last of the okonomiyaki on the griddle, ready to be sent out, wiped off her griddle, and quickly ran over to the empty cooler, filling it with some of Mendou’s resupply cooler. It was barely a dent in the massive amount in the cooler, but it was enough that Ryuunosuke thought she could help.

“Shinobu! Nagisa! Watch over the griddle for me!” Ryuunosuke hefted the cooler up onto her shoulder, and ran out of the Hamachaya, crossing over into Ucchan’s.

Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Then Lum and Shinobu sped out after her.

Ukyou looked up from her grill as Ryuunosuke burst in. She was in the middle of cooking several okonomiyaki, all of them as substantial looking as the one served to Ryuunosuke yesterday.  
  
But as Ryuunosuke carried the cooler full of food inside and set it down at her feet, her look turned from surprise, to confusion, to baleful contempt. She turned away from the other woman in disgust, tending to her food.  
  
"I thought you might need some more supplies, too." Ryuunosuke said breathlessly. "I got way more of this stuff than I needed, and I thought it wouldn't be fair to..."  
  
Ukyou looked back at Ryuunosuke, her eyes burning with rage. "You thought you could come in here and lord it over me and my shop, huh?" She swept several okonomiyaki off the searing surface of the griddle with savage swipes of her spatulas, sliding them down into separate plates.  
  
"What? No!" Ryuunosuke's brow creased. "I'm trying to help you here! It wouldn't be fair otherwise..."  
  
As Konatsu quickly served the okonomiyaki to customers, Ukyou turned fully to regard Ryuunosuke. "Well, look at you! Thinking you could be the better woman! Instead of just some upstart punk looking to steal my thunder behind my back when I’m not looking, just like your old man!"  
  
Ryuunosuke's jaw worked for a moment, before she could find suitable words. "I'm telling you, I'm trying to be helpful." She ground out slowly. "You want me to admit that my okonomiyaki isn't as good as yours? Fine, I admit it! But I'm not going to let you throw my help in my face!"  
  
Ukyou didn't answer. She turned back to the griddle, turning her back on Ryuunosuke, and poured out another bowl of okonomiyaki onto the griddle. Then she worked furiously at the griddle, tending to the okonomiyaki in front of her, flipping it over to cook on the other side.  
  
"I really mean it too," Ryuunosuke said desperately, stepping closer to Ukyou. "That okonomiyaki might've been half-warm and a few hours from fresh, but it was one of the best I ever tasted. And I ain’t too proud to admit that!"

Ukyou flipped the okonomiyaki over, and then let her hands fall at her sides, her spatulas limp in her hands.  
  
"You really think my okonomiyaki is that good?" She asked softly, still facing away from Ryuunosuke. She put one spatula down on the side, then spread sauce, mayonnaise and a fine dustin of aonori over the top of the okonomiyaki.  
  
"I swear it, honest and pure." Ryuunosuke answered.  
  
"Then have a fresh one _on the house!_ " In one fluid, savage motion, Ukyou swiped the okonomiyaki off the griddle, and flung it full bore at Ryuunosuke.  
  
Ryuunosuke didn't have the time to realize what Ukyou had done before the burning hot okonomiyaki smashed into her face, sauce and mayo splattering down into her shirt.  
  
Lum and Shinobu watched in horror as Ryuunosuke staggered blindly backwards, nearly toppling over onto her ass as she clawed the okonomiyaki off her face. They quickly flanked her, supporting her sides to keep her on her feet.  
  
"Now get the hell out of my place!" Ukyou snarled, levelling one of her spatulas at them. "Before I boot your slimy asses out for you!"  
  
Lum and Shinobu took one look at Ukyou’s angry face, before they quickly dragged Ryuunosuke back out of Ucchan's. Ryuunosuke still carried the splattered remains of Ukyou's parting gift in her hands, the intense heat burning into her palms and fingers.

Lum and Shinobu dragged her back into the Hamachaya, garnering surprised stares from the customers and staff. Shinobu quickly pulled Ryuunosuke over to the chair, letting her flop into it

“Ryuunosuke-kun!” Shinobu said, grabbing Ryuunosuke’s still sauce-smeared face in her hands. “Are you alright? Speak to me! Say something!”

Ryuunosuke didn’t say anything. She just ate the smashed okonomiyaki, ignoring the intense pain in her hands and face.

Lum stared at Ryuunosuke as she jammed the okonomiyaki into her mouth. “I guess she’s doing okay?”  
  
"No, she’s really not," Shinobu said quietly. "If that girl is really upset with us, we might as well be at war with her." She looked over at Lum, her brow creased with worry. "I heard from Ataru-kun that she is a student at Furinkan High School, and so are the other workers there, too! I’ve heard the most scary stories about the students there! They make Sanrinbou look like an elementary school!"  
  
Ryuunosuke was still silent as she scooped more of Ucchan's smashed okonomiyaki into her mouth. She kept her eyes shut, mostly to avoid getting sauce in her eyes, but also because she wanted to not look at anybody’s faces.  
  
"Aren't you worried, Ryuunosuke?" Lum asked. "We've just made some really dangerous enemies next door. Don't you have anything to say about that?"  
  
Ryuunosuke licked the last of the sauce and mayo left on her hand. "Well, her okonomiyaki sure tastes better when it’s fresh off the grill..."  
  


* * *

  
“Hold still, Ryuunosuke!”

Ryuunosuke hissed, flinching back from another cooling plaster being stuck onto her face. She was pretty sure that her face now looked like some kind of tadpole right now. Not only was it red and swollen from all the burns, but now it was covered in burn dressings and cooling plasters covering every bit of red in gel-soaked cotton.

The Hamachaya had to close early after that incident, so Ryuunosuke could be taken over to the villa to get her face and hands treated. Ryuunosuke was always hardy, but even she didn't know how fast she would recover from hot food burns. So Ryuunosuke was left by herself to appreciate the irony of it all. The only relief she got was that Ucchan's closed not long afterwards, Ukyou apparently being way too upset to continue working.

Shinobu huffed, keeping a tight hold on Ryuunosuke's shoulder. "I told you to hold still! I know how much it hurts!" She smoothed the new bandage over Ryuunosuke's face. "I don't think you should bother going anywhere near that Kuonji girl any more. She just seems to get madder whenever you're around her."

"Can't help it," Ryuunosuke replied, slightly distorted under all the bandages. "She's a girl who makes great food, I thought we had something in common. How was I to know that my old man ruined my chances before I could even try?"

Shinobu frowned at Ryuunosuke. "Maybe it's just as well she doesn't like you, then." She turned to pack the cooling plasters and gauze into the first-aid kit. "That means I'm not going to end up getting left holding the bag yet again..."

Ryuunosuke just stared at Shinobu silently. Long enough that Shinobu couldn't look at her face without feeling awkward. She looked away, somewhat shamefaced.

"I'm sorry..." She mumbled. "I've just been passed up for other girls too many times. I don't want to go through that again, not with you." She closed the first aid kit silently. "Not when I finally found a chance at happiness."

Ryuunosuke heaved a deep sigh, and leaned over, pulling Shinobu closer against her. Shinobu squeaked in surprise as she found herself pressed tightly against Ryuunosuke's side, an arm draped around her shoulders.

Shinobu gazed up at Ryuunosuke, her eyes wide. "Um, Ryuunosuke-kun?"

Ryuunosuke just smiled down at her. "What? I thought you were feeling neglected for a moment there?" She brushed Shinobu's hair back gently with her fingers. "In that case, you'll need a little more attention."

Shinobu flushed deeply as she stared up at Ryuunosuke. "You don't have to just grab me like that..." But she settled in against Ryuunosuke, closing her eyes. "I can come to you perfectly by myself, thank you."

Ryuunosuke smiled down at Shinobu, poking her cheek gently. "Where's the fun in that?"

Shinobu giggled softly, raising herself up so that she could gaze at Ryuunosuke. "Has being around Ataru too long rubbed off on you, Ryuunosuke-kun?"

Ryuunosuke snorted, a crooked smile on her face. "Not likely."

Shinobu smiled back. “That’s good to hear.” She leaned in and pressed her lips gently against Ryuunosuke’s, curling her arms around the other girl’s shoulders. As Ryuunosuke’s arms encircled her waist, she let herself sink into the embrace.  
  


* * *

  
"I suppose that you think I should be feeling sorry for myself," Ukyou said quietly, staring out into the sea. "Blowing up at the Fujinami girl like that."

Ranma sat beside her, dangling her legs out of the window she sat in. "Well, it ain't like you've done somethin' like that before, Ucchan. You're always slinging okonomiyaki at people."

"But it ain't just about the okonomiyaki, Ranchan!" Ukyou clenched her fists tightly. "For as long as I could remember, Old Man Fujinami has been screwing me and my family over. What makes you think that his daughter ain't doing the same?"

"She was trying to share her supplies with you, Ukyou-san." Akane was resolute, fixing Ukyou with a steely gaze. "She was willing to do anything short of kneeling down in front of you and begging for forgiveness!"

"Yeah, well, maybe if she did that and dragged her sorry ass outta my sight, then maybe I would've forgiven her!" Ukyou snarled, turning to face Akane. "I ain't working another minute with that punk on this beach!"

"Fine, then!" Akane said, her gaze hardening. "I'm not going to sit by and let this stupid feud go on any longer!"

Ukyou looked over at Ranma. "Well, you'll be helping me, won't you?" She quailed as Ranma turned away, silent. "Hey, don't think I don't remember everything I've done for you!"

"Ukyou-sama!"

Ukyou halted, and turned to look at Konatsu coming up to her with a pleading look on her face. "Konatsu... Not you too?"

Konatsu nodded quietly. "Ukyou-sama, this has to stop. We all thought we could come here and enjoy ourselves, without worrying about people making trouble." She clasped her hands together, her eyes starting to shimmer. "We don't want the fighting to go on. Please, Ukyou-sama..."

Ukyou quailed at Konatsu's pleading expression. "Fine, already!" She took a couple of steps back, her face flushing. "Just don't look at me like that!"

Akane sighed in relief. "Thank goodness for that. Maybe tomorrow we can have less trouble..."  
  


* * *

  
Unfortunately for Akane, she would be proved wrong. Because, under the dark of night, as the waves rolled across the dark sands, a single solitary figure crept up to Ucchan's. Cutting through the red canvas with a box cutter, the figure slipped inside, ready to carry out some sinister plans.

Moments later, the figure emerged, carefully wheeling out the rickety wooden yatai behind it, stuffed full with supplies. The yatai was pulled out onto the sand, and quickly dragged out into the night.

And because of this, the Okonomiyaki Summer Wars would reach a violent climax the very next day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I finally finished the third chapter! And it's longer than both previous chapters combined! Does this mean I have to make the final chapter even longer?! Feel free to let me know in the comments!
> 
> Seriously, this story is ballooning out more than I expected. I wanted to add more scenes with Ukyou and the Ucchan's side, which I had apparently done in abundance. I had to take one other scene that was in this chapter in the previous draft, and moved it to the final chapter. It's important, thought it will survive being moved over. Next is having to write the whole of the concluding chapters, along with extra stuff for the Ucchan's side, the whole clothes shopping scene and a whole new epilogue where everyone gets drunk or something.
> 
> So just wait for whenever I can finish that!


	4. DAY FOUR: The Old Place Goes Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the grand finale, folks! With her precious yatai gone, Ukyou is looking for justice. But Ryuunosuke isn't planning on backing down. Right now, it's all going off!

For the second day in a row, Ryuunosuke woke up with Shinobu curled up against her, arms wrapped securely around her middle. At least now, she wasn't as flustered as she was the morning before.  
  
She gently ran her fingers through Shinobu's hair, gazing down at the girl still clinging so tightly to her. There was a feeling bubbling up from within, that she remembered feeling when she was little watching schoolgirls pass by, giggling softly; or when the girls in class would moon over her; or all those times before when she held Shinobu in her arms, just like this. A strange kind of warmth in her chest that would light up, only to be snuffed out again.  
  
Only now it wouldn't be snuffed out. It would only grow stronger, just as long as Ryuunosuke kept holding onto Shinobu.  
  
Ryuunosuke wriggled the covers away from the bed, and hugged Shinobu closer. Maybe she could give the day over to Ukyou, and let her run the beach as she pleased. After what happened the day before, she knew that it would probably be easier than any attempt at peaceful negotiations.   
  
But Ryuunosuke knew that she couldn't just give up now. The Hamachaya was something that was promised to her ever since she was born; she had an obligation to the name, both to her father's legacy and the sea that he so loves.  
  
Ryuunosuke heaved a sigh, placing a kiss on Shinobu's forehead. "Come on, Shinobu. We gotta get up. The sea is waiting for us."  
  
Shinobu groaned, nuzzling in against Ryuunosuke's neck. "Please, just five minutes more," she murmured softly. "I'm sure the sea would understand." Her eyes opened slightly, just enough to gaze at Ryuunosuke. "There’s better things to do on the beach than work and pick fights, you know."  
  
Ryuunosuke sighed through her nose. "Yeah, I can see what you mean." She kissed Shinobu's lips gently. "But I gotta make breakfast, too."  
  
"Nagisa-kun can make breakfast," Shinobu answered. "I just want to spend a little long with you. Just us, like this."  
  
Ryuunosuke smiled at Shinobu. "Yeah?" But her smile slipped as movement caught her eye. It faded completely when she looked up to see Lum and Ran both staring at them, their eyes wide and curious. Not disgusted, not offended, just... curious.  
  
Ryuunosuke could feel her cheeks immediately start to burn. Various possibilities of what the two girls were thinking popped into her mind, each more embarrassing than the last. She tried her best to give them a stone cold gaze, hard enough to drive them away.  
  
"W-what?"  
  
Lum and Ran just kept staring at Ryuunosuke, not even affected by her gaze.  
  
Ryuunosuke's brow creased, trying to harden her gaze. " _What?_ "  
  
Now Shinobu turned around to see the girls staring at her, and her expression immediately turned to mortification. She immediately started blushing, and her arms quickly slid away from Ryuunosuke, held tight against her chest.  
  
"I didn't think you would be sharing beds with Shinobu-chan twice in a row, Ryuunosuke-kun." Ran said, a smile on her face. "Though I sure can understand why. Shinobu-chan is pretty cute, after all..."  
  
"Whatever it is that you're thinking, leave me out of it!" Ryuunosuke said, rising from her futon. "I'd never do anything like that to Shinobu, especially in a shared room like this!" Before Shinobu could stop her, Ryuunosuke rose to her feet, and dashed out from the bedroom, headed straight for the shower.  
  
Shinobu was left staring at Lum and Ran, her face bright red. "Ho... How long have you been watching us?" She quickly scrambled up to sitting position, her knees against her chest.  
  
"Oh, for quite some time now," Ran said, an innocent smile on her face. "I didn't think you had it in you, Shinobu-chan! How did you get so bold?"  
  
"Please don't, Ran-chan!" Lum's face was almost as red as Shinobu's. "You've already gotten Ryuunosuke _really_ on edge this morning!"  
  
Ran opened her mouth to reply, only for a loud scream to cut her off. The scream was quickly followed up by a loud crash, and the sound of Ryuunosuke yelling incoherently.  
  
The three girls all exchanged glances, before dashing out of the bedroom, out into the living room. They were all somewhat surprised to see Ryuunosuke lying in the remains of a ceramic vase, the broken remains of a large fern over her body. On her cheek was an angry red handprint, most likely very fresh.  
  
The three girls followed their gaze to the bathroom door opposite the broken vase, left slightly ajar, steam rising out from inside. And they quickly put two and two together.  
  
Shinobu went over to Ryuunosuke, pulling her from the remains of the broken vase. "Are you alright, Ryuunosuke-kun? Did you hurt anything?"  
  
"Ryuunosuke?!" The bathroom door opened, and Sakura stepped out, clad in only a pink towel. "I thought you were one of the boys for a second!"  
  
"So you decided to club anyone who would come in?!" Shinobu asked angrily.  
  
"Of course!" Sakura said, "Unlike you, I've learned from experience not to trust any of these boys!"  
  
"My poor dear Sakura-sensei," Mendou said, somehow stepping out from beyond Sakura, and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "To overreact to such petty slights is not becoming of a woman of your stature..."  
  
Ataru quickly slid out to claim Sakura's other side. "It's alright, though. Since you're so beautiful..."  
  
The next moment, Sakura grabbed Mendou and Ataru by their heads, and slammed them together like coconuts. She dropped the two dazed boys on the floor before turning around and stepping back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Ryuunosuke just stared down at the two boys, laid out on the living room floor. "Why do they even keep bothering?"  
  
Shinobu just sighed deeply.

 

* * *

  

After Sakura finally had finished in the bathroom, Ryuunosuke got in for a quick scrub-up, before heading straight to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. It helped Ryuunosuke to think straight, after the first minute burst of chaos that morning.   
  
So when Ataru and Lum came up to Ryuunosuke, both sporting identical grins on their faces, Ryuunosuke decided to blow right past them to set the table. They ended up standing in the middle of the kitchen, grinning stupidly for a moment, as Ryuunosuke worked around them.  
  
Ryuunosuke managed to negotiate around the two around three times, back and forth from the table, before Ataru roughly grabbed her arm and forced her to stop. He tried to put on his best angry face (which wasn't really all that intimidating), as he tried to hold her still.  
  
"Can't you see that we're trying to help you here?!" Ataru asked.  
  
"Can this wait until after breakfast?" Ryuunosuke replied irritably. "I don’t like being bothered when I’m cooking!"  
  
"Ryuunosuke," Lum said quickly, before the situation devolved any further, "we're all gonna take you out downtown after breakfast, and just not open the Hamachaya until later, okay?"  
  
Ryuunosuke blinked several times, before she stepped forward. "I can't just leave off opening the Hamachaya! I have an obligation to it! I have to be there!"  
  
Lum just nodded at Ryuunosuke. "Yeah yeah, but this whole thing has been stressing you out this past couple of days. We figured that you should need a bit of a break from all of this, before you have a breakdown or something."  
  
"So I should just quit my livelihood and go swanning off somewhere else, huh?" Ryuunosuke crossed her arms, her eyes hard. "What do you even think would make me leave the Hamachaya behind, even for a minute?"  
  
"A new wardrobe!" Lum replied, grinning. "Like bikinis and swimsuits, maybe even a pretty new dress or two..." She counted off her fingers. "I think you might need some new shoes too, those sneakers look really ratty! Oh, and proper underwear, too!"  
  
"And of course, all of this is paid for by our good buddy Mendou!" Ataru announced, reaching over to pull Mendou in against him.  
  
Mendou's eyes practically bugged out. "What?!" He turned to stare at Ataru. "What did you just say, Moroboshi?!"  
  
"What is it, Mendou?" Ataru asked. "Don't you wanna see Ryuu-chan in a new bikini?"  
  
Mendou's mouth opened, but no sound came out. His jaw snapped shut as Ataru's words slowly sank in. And then his face quickly reverted to pretty-boy mode, as if he wasn’t angry just seconds before. "Well, I'm sure that Ryuunosuke-san would look very attractive in a new bikini..."  
  
Ryuunosuke gaped, open-mouthed, looking between Ataru and Mendou. "Wait, are you seriously saying this?" She clenched her fists, hard enough to turn her knuckles white. "You mean I can finally wear a girls' swimsuit?!"  
  
Mendou put an arm around Ryuunosuke's shoulders. "Didn't we say that we would be taking care of you, Ryuunosuke-san?"  
  
Ataru grinned as he hugged Ryuunosuke as well. "I told you, there is nothing that we can't do...!"  
  
The next moment, both boys were sent flying out of the kitchen area, to slam against the far wall by a jubilant Ryuunosuke. The two slowly slid down the wall, to lay in a crumpled heap on the floor, as was the usual thing.  
  
"Oh hell yeah!" Ryuunosuke shouted, fists still in the air. "I can really get behind that!"  
  
Lum clapped happily, prancing around the kitchen. "That's the spirit, Ryuunosuke!"  
  
Shinobu peered into the kitchen, a curious look on her face. "You’re looking unusually happy right now, Ryuunosuke-kun." She stepped inside fully, a smile on her face. “So I’m guessing we’re skipping the beach this morning?”  
  
Ryuunosuke looked over at Shinobu. "Will the Hamachaya still be okay? I mean, I'm gonna have to leave it there for a while, aren't I?" Her smile quickly faded from her face. "I mean, I'm just gonna have it leave it there..."  
  
Shinobu just smiled. "It's gonna be okay, Ryuunosuke-kun. The Hamachaya's gonna do just fine without you."  
  
"Seriously?" Ryuunosuke asked. "I mean, it's a place that I've been promised for so long, I can't fail it now." She stepped out of the kitchen area slowly, the other girls following her, towards the window that looked out to the sea. "I promised myself that I wouldn't fail the Hamachaya. I made a promise to the sea!" She turned to look at Lum and Shinobu. "You think I can just leave the Hamachaya be?"  
  
Shinobu stepped towards Ryuunosuke, and gently clasped her hands. "Ryuunosuke-kun, it'll be alright. You talk about the sea like your father does, you know that?" When Ryuunosuke opened her mouth to reply, she pressed a finger to her lips.

"All you know had been what your father told you, right?" She asked quietly. "About the Hamachaya, about the sea, about movies and chocolate, and flowers and baseball..." She tilted her head, her eyes never leaving Ryuunosuke. "So you hardly know anything other than what he told you."  
  
Then Shinobu turned to glare at Ataru and Mendou, currently trying to stand up again. "Or what _they_ tell you..." Then she looked back at Ryuunosuke. "Well, none of that matters now."  
  
"So what's this have to do with the Hamachaya?" Ryuunosuke asked. "Or the sea?"  
  
"Just that you shouldn't worry about it," Shinobu said. "The sea won't judge you because you've taken the morning off to go shopping. It doesn't hold any obligations over your head and you don't owe it anything." She waved an arm in the direction of the waves crashing outside the villa. "And once the summer is over, and the temperature drops, and the water gets choppy, you don't have to stay there and deal with it! You don't have to stay there, and listen to the lies of some deranged old man!"  
  
Ryuunosuke bowed her head. "Okay, Shinobu. I think I get the point." She gazed out the window once more, and noticed that the waves didn't seem to be as choppy as they once were.  
  
Shinobu nodded, taking Ryuunosuke's hand. "For all we know, the sea would rather want to see you in a nice new swimsuit. So, let's go already!"  


* * *

 

The beach was unusually quiet as Ukyou made her way down, Konatsu by her side, and Ranma and Akane bringing up the rear. She could see Ryouga and Akari out the corner of her eye, walking Katsunishiki along the surf. Apart from there, there were few people around.  
  
It didn't really matter to Ukyou, anyway. The beach was likely to fill up more later on. And Konatsu found out that her rival and her little friends had hitched a ride with Mendou in his car, which meant that the beach was finally free of their presence. If they ever came back today, they would have a hell of a time trying to catch up with them.  
  
As a result, Ukyou was practically walking on air. She couldn't keep the smile off her face, or keep from skipping across the sand.  
  
Konatsu smiled at her as they approached the tent. "You seem to be happy again, Ukyou-sama. I thought you still would be brooding about last night."  
  
Ukyou just smiled at Konatsu. "Don't worry about it, Natsu-chan. With Fujinami gone for now, it looks like we've got an easy day ahead of us." She stepped into the stall, ducking under the banner. "This beach will be ours for the taking..."  
  
Ukyou trailed off as she turned, and got a good look inside. In a matter of seconds, her smile, and all of her happiness drained from her, to be replaced with cold horror. Where her yatai once stood was now nothing but empty space. No cart, no supplies, just the tables and chairs, boxes of paper plates and dishes, cutlery and the washing up sink.  
  
Ukyou stared dumbfounded at the empty space, as if waiting for her yatai to roll back in from out of nowhere. But after a couple of blinks, the spot was still empty.  
  
Konatsu, Ranma and Akane were also silent, standing stock still as Ukyou stepped forward, crossing the floor to the empty space where her yatai once stood. As Ukyou looked around, the three exchanged frantic looks, trying to formulate some kind of idea what was going on.  
  
"It's gone..." Ukyou said, her voice hollow. "My yatai... it's gone!"  
  
"Ukyou-sama," Konatsu said quietly. "I think we should calm down a little and think about who might have took it..." Her voice trailed off as Ukyou noticed the slit in the side of the canopy, the stream of light trailing from it.  
  
Ukyou silently stepped over to the slit, and pulled it aside. Outside, she could see the white canopy of the Fujinami Hamachaya, shining white in the morning sun.  
  
"Ukyou-sama..." Konatsu said desperately, noticing the look on Ukyou's face.  
  
"Ucchan!" Ranma said, stepping forward quickly.  
  
Ukyou turned to look at Konatsu. "What, you seriously don't think they might have anything to do with this?" Her face was growing seriously strained. "They knew they couldn't handle competing with Ucchan's on a fair playing field! So they did this to me!"  
  
"Ucchan, it could be anybody who stole your yatai!" Ranma said, quickly stepping forwards. "Just 'cause Fujinami works next door don't mean that she's tryin' to sabotage you!"  
  
"And she doesn't even want to compete with you!" Akane added. "She told you that herself! She outright admitted that you were the better cook!"  
  
"Oh, don't give me any of that crap!" Ukyou replied angrily. "Her father would always do the same thing! He'd come up to me and tell me and my dad about how good our okonomiyaki was, and how it was so much better than anything he could make! Then the next thing you know, he's made off with some of our food, or one of our gas cans! Sometimes he just outright stole our money box from us! He even once stole a whole gas grill!"  
  
Konatsu dashed forward, and grabbed Ukyou's hands. "Ukyou-sama, it's okay! Fujinami's probably going to be here soon, isn't she? When she comes, we can ask her for ourselves!"  
  
Ukyou glared at Konatsu, her eyes full of cold fury. "Let go of my hands, Konatsu. Before I make you let go."  
  
Hesitantly, Konatsu let go of Ukyou's hands, folding her own together in front of her chest. "Ukyou-sama, _please_..." She looked at her mistress with shining, plaintive eyes. "Don't do anything you might regret."  
  
Ukyou stared at Konatsu for a long while, before turning her gaze to the Hamachaya next to her. Then she looked back at Konatsu once more, a look that chilled the kunoichi to the core. "What makes you think I'm gonna regret anything I'm gonna do?"  
  
Then Ukyou turned around and pushed through the slit torn through the side of Ucchan's and stepped towards the Hamachaya. She slowly drew out her big spatula, ready to fight.

 

* * *

 

 

Meanwhile, Shutarou Mendou’s signature white command car had pulled up in front of the entrance to a Mendou-owned department store in the town, miles from the beach. As Mendou stepped out, Ryuunosuke shoved open the back door, almost tripping out. Before anyone could stop her, she dashed through the doors, shouldering them open. 

As soon as Ryuunosuke was past the doors into the department store, she made a beeline for the women's swimwear section at a speed that pretty much took aback everyone around her, including the long line of staff out to greet Mendou. Shinobu sprinted behind Ryuunosuke as quick as she could, trying to keep pace as much as her sandals would let her.  
  
The two quickly browsed through the racks of swimwear, Ryuunosuke searching through to see what she liked, while Shinobu picked out some things that she'd really like to see Ryuunosuke wearing. It was only after several minutes of searching when something struck Shinobu, and she quickly turned to Ryuunosuke.  
  
"Um, Ryuunosuke-kun?"  
  
Ryuunosuke turned to look at Shinobu, a bikini held in her hands. "Yeah?"  
  
"Have you ever..." Shinobu blushed deeply as she made vague motions around her chest. "Measured yourself?" She quickly looked away, covering her face with her hand.  
  
Ryuunosuke just stared at Shinobu. "What, like my height?"  
  
"N-no!" Shinobu blurted out. "Not _that_! I mean..." She repeated the gesture that she hoped Ryuunosuke would realise was indicating the chest area. "... _here_!"  
  
Ryuunosuke's face lit up. "Wait, do you mean my tits?" Her voice was loud enough that every head on that floor turned to look at her. And the next moment, Shinobu had dashed over to clap her hands over Ryuunosuke's mouth.  
  
Unfortunately, Shinobu clapped her hands over Ryuunosuke's mouth so hard that Ryuunosuke lost her balance. Shinobu found herself grabbing onto Ryuunosuke around the waist as the other girl flailed to stay upright. As she lurched over, Ryuunosuke grabbed hold on one rack of swimsuits, only to pull it down with them, burying the two in cotton, spandex and lycra.  
  
For a moment, the two girls were completely still, hidden beneath the pile of swimwear. Ryuunosuke lay on top of Shinobu, nose to nose, staring into her eyes. Neither girl moved, or even made a noise.  
  
Eventually, Ryuunosuke broke the silence. "You didn't have to hit me that hard," she said, ruefully. She turned her eyes away from Shinobu's face.  
  
Shinobu, in response, burst into giggles. A second later, Ryuunosuke was laughing too.  
  
Their laughter was suddenly cut short when the pile of swimwear was shoved aside. The two girls looked up to see Lum and Ran peering down at both of them, their faces wearing almost identical expressions of confusion.  
  
Ryuunosuke waved at them nervously. "Sup?"  
  
Lum and Ran exchanged an exasperated look, before stepping back to let Ryuunosuke and Shinobu get to their feet once more.

In a matter of moments, Ryuunosuke had found herself bundled into a changing room along with three other girls. Along the way, Shinobu grabbed a roll of measuring tape from the staff; she rolled the tape out once Ryuunosuke was safely kept from view.  
  
Ryuunosuke quickly took off her T-shirt and sarashi, and raised her arms for Shinobu to reach around her with the tape. Meanwhile, Lum and Ran slipped out to try and tidy up the fallen clothing racks. Ryuunosuke and Shinobu found themselves alone in the changing room.  
  
Ryuunosuke tried her best not to think about Shinobu's doing their work, in case the thought made her brain overheat with embarrassment. She could already feel her face burning, to the point that she was wondering if she was glowing in the dark. Maybe Shinobu could see it, and was nice enough not to point it out.  
  
Behind her, Ryuunosuke suddenly heard the door clack, moving slightly against the latch. The changing room had swinging doors that were ceiling to floor, but they were pretty much a frame that surrounded tilted slats; the angle was enough to hide what was inside unless, say, you were crouched in front of it.  
  
But of course, you would have to be pretty dumb to do that: whoever was inside would be able to see you peeking in, especially in the tall mirror on the wall opposite the doors. Which was how Ryuunosuke noticed Ataru and Mendou trying to peer into the dressing room through the slats in the doors, through their bodies blocking the light.  
  
Ryuunosuke nudged Shinobu gently with her hand, earning her a look of confusion for a moment. But when she noticed the shadows over the changing room door, she quickly stepped aside, gathering the tape in her hands.  
  
Holding an arm over her chest, Ryuunosuke spun around and delivered a powerful kick into the doors, causing them to fly open, and sending the two perverts flying. Ataru and Mendou landed hard in the racks of blouses, collapsing into a twisted pile of metal and fabric.  
  
Shinobu winced slightly at the sight, then looked back at Ryuunosuke. "You could have done something a little less aggressive, Ryuunosuke-kun."  
  
"Would you?" Ryuunosuke asked, shaking the jarring feeling from her foot. "I mean, if you got Moroboshi and Mendou peeking in on you..."  
  
"Maybe," Shinobu replied, "though I'd only wish that Mendou-san _would_ spy on me..."  
  
Ryuunosuke scowled slightly. "Come on, you know that I'm no lady of the manor type, don't you?" She looked away, her scowl immediately softening. "I mean, I'd wish I _could_ , but..."  
  
"It's all right, Ryuunosuke-kun," Shinobu replied. "It takes a lot of time and effort to change. Especially when it feels like the world doesn't want you to..." She peered outside for a moment, before looking back at Ryuunosuke. "I think I got a good idea of your measurements, anyway..."  
  
Lum and Ran had quickly returned to help Ataru and Mendou out of their predicament, just in time for Shinobu to give them the measurements. After the boys were freed, the two girls went out again, gathering swimsuits for Ryuunosuke to try on.  
  
As Lum and Ran quickly bundled into the dressing room once more, Ataru and Mendou waited outside, dancing a strange jig of anticipation. From inside, they could hear the girls' voices as Ryuunosuke went through the pile:  
  
"How's this look?"  
  
"Don't really like these frills..."  
  
"What about this?"  
  
"These feel _way_ too skimpy."  
  
"This looks nice!"  
  
"Are you _kidding_ me?!"  
  
The boys' jig became more feverish and strange, picking up speed as Ryuunosuke went through swimsuit after swimsuit. Their dancing and strange _sowa sowa_ chanting got louder, loud enough for the girls inside the cubicle to notice. But the boys were so absorbed in their dance that they didn't notice the lack of sounds coming from inside.  
  
The doors to the changing room banged open once more, loud and sharp enough that Ataru and Mendou froze. Both boys turned to see Ryuunosuke standing in front of them, arms akimbo, glaring with intense eyes. She was wearing a black bikini with a strapless top, which had the kanji for dragon printed in red on the left breast.  
  
Both boys stared at Ryuunosuke with something approaching awe in both of their expressions, rooted to the spot. Neither of them even moved a muscle.  
  
"Now," Ryuunosuke said, a hint of fire in her voice. "Are you two gonna stay put and behave?" She looked between the two boys, her eyes narrowing. "Or am I gonna have to kick your asses up and down this store?"  
  
Almost immediately, Ataru and Mendou sat down in front of her, identical puppylike expressions on their faces.  
  
Ryuunosuke simply nodded, and stepped back inside the changing room, a triumphant grin on her face.

 

* * *

 

 

About an hour later, Mendou's servants were left to stuff several bags worth of clothes and swimsuits into the back of a truck. This included a whole new wardrobe for Ryuunosuke, picked out with the other girls' help: some new T-shirts, four new pairs of jeans, a couple of skirts, several new shoes, and even a couple of hoodies. Ryuunosuke now figured that she had enough clothes to last her through the warm months. Along with the stuff that she still had for winter, she was pretty much set for life.

As the truck drove off towards the villa, everyone piled into Mendou's command car, and took off for the beach at breakneck speed. Mendou sat in the front, while Lum, Ran, Shinobu, Ryuunosuke and Ataru shared the back seat together; Lum sat in Ataru's lap, and Ran sat next to Ataru, while Ryuunosuke sat between Ran and Ataru. Ryuunosuke was still wearing her new black bikini, with her Hamachaya shirt over it for the sake of modesty.

"Now I can see why you liked Mendou so much," she said to Shinobu, as the car rolled through the streets. "A man with a wallet that big would wanna splash out on stuff for his girl." She looked over at Mendou, searching for any trace of smugness on his face. "Or any girl that just happens to be around him, anyway."

"It wasn't just the money," Shinobu replied, a mock pout on her face. "Don't you think he's really handsome? I sure think so." She followed Ryuunosuke's gaze, watching Mendou's reaction. "It sure makes up for a lot of faults."

Ryuunosuke scowled, and looked away from Mendou, who was decidedly looking a little more smug now. "I don't see it. He's nothing but a creep to me. Take away the money, and the looks, and the only thing that makes him different from Moroboshi is the name." 

Mendou's face became slightly strained. "I think you just might be mistaken, Ryuunosuke-san..." 

"Hey, why not?" Ataru asked. "I don't think there's a dude I know who's gotten past Ryuu-chan's defenses. The only one who came close is Nagisa, and that's just because he looks so much like a chick!" 

"Or maybe Ryuunosuke is just better at seeing through a handsome face," Shinobu added. Then, in a lower voice that Ryuunosuke could barely hear, "better than I can, anyway..."

Ryuunosuke turned to look at Shinobu. "Don't just put yourself down like that, Shinobu! You deserve better than Mendou!"

"I know, right!" Shinobu replied, smiling. "You're a much better boyfriend than any of the men in this car!"

Mendou flopped over against his driver, knocking him to the side, nearly jarring the steering wheel and sending the command car into oncoming traffic. The driver ended up wrestling with the wheel for several seconds, mounting the kerb on the left side as it braked to a sudden stop.

Ryuunosuke managed to keep a tight hold on both Shinobu and Ran, as well as the backseat, allowing them to stay seated. Ataru, as usual, wasn't quite so lucky: he was catapulted over to slam his face against the driver's headrest, while Lum slid off and bounced around the backseat like a large balloon being knocked around.

"You okay, Shinobu?" Ryuunosuke asked, her arms wrapped around Shinobu protectively, Ran clinging against her side.

"What about Darling?" Lum said, looking down at her Darling's dazed body, blood trickling from his nostrils. "That impact must've knocked him out cold!"

The driver groaned as he got the car back into gear. "We'll have Sakura look at him when we get to the beach. In the meantime, please don't say anything that might make the young master freak out like that..." With one hand, he shoved Mendou over to lean against his door, head hanging out over the side of the car.

As the car pulled away once more, Ryuunosuke looked down at Shinobu. "So you think I'm a better boyfriend, huh?" She paused for a moment. "I'd rather be your girlfriend, though. Is that okay with you?"

Shinobu just smiled. "Of course! Haven't I been your girlfriend all this time?"

Ryuunosuke just smiled, and pulled Shinobu tightly against her. "That's all I wanted to hear. Thanks..." She placed a gentle kiss on Shinobu's cheek, just as the command car pulled into the beach.

Almost immediately, Ataru roused himself up to look over the top of the command car door, as Sakura dashed over to the car. "Sakura-sensei! You're here!" Then he turned his head to look somewhere to Sakura's left. "And you've brought a friend, have you? I didn't know you had a twin sister!"

Sakura blinked, and leaned over the side of the car to peer at Moroboshi. "Exactly what have you been doing in this car this morning?" She glared over at the driver. "Why does Moroboshi have a mild concussion?"

“Ooooh, triplets!” Ataru squealed happily.

"Just an offhand comment that went wrong," the driver answered back. "Can you at least take care of Moroboshi and the young Master for a moment? It's my lunch hour right now!"

Sakura scowled at the driver, so hard that it made him shrink back against the side door. Then she focused her scowl at Ryuunosuke. "You better get over to the beach now, Ryuunosuke. Something seriously bad is going down!"

Ryuunosuke blinked, raising herself up. "What is it? What happened?"

"Your new friends from next door have apparently decided to destroy your precious Hamachaya!" Sakura said, a grave expression on her face.

In the blink of an eye, Ryuunosuke leapt out of the car and charged across the beach, towards the line of stalls. She ran as fast as she could, straining her body in order to get there on time. But as she closed in on the stalls, she stopped short: she could already see that it was too late.  
  
What was once a proud stall with a shining white canopy was now reduced to a ruin, torn to pieces and scattered across the beach. The metal frame was all broken and bent, and the white canopy was torn and shredded, left in a pile on top of its wooden platform.  
  
And standing there amongst the wreckage of the Hamachaya was Ukyou, spatula gripped firmly in her hands. At her feet was the smashed remains of the Hamachaya's griddle. And as Ryuunosuke slowly approached the wreckage of the Hamachaya, she could see the seething fury in her eyes as she gazed down at her.  
  
"Well, look who it is!" Ukyou shouted, raising her spatula up. "Thought you could come in and ruin our business, huh? Well, see if you can do that with your stall in pieces!"  
  
"What the hell is this?!" Ryuunosuke shouted, stepping closer through the remains of the Hamachaya. "Why did you do this to our Hamachaya?!"  
  
"You should know damn well what you did!" Ukyou shot back, pointing the edge of her spatula at Ryuunosuke. "This is payback for what you've done to me these past couple of days!"  
  
"What payback?!" Ryuunosuke asked. "All I'm seeing is a bunch of crazy chicks smashing up my stall for no good reason!" Behind her, Lum floated down to the sand, while Shinobu sprinted up behind.  
  
Ukyou's eyes narrowed into slits. "You mean you don't remember making off with my yatai last night, along with all of our supplies?!"  
  
Ryuunosuke's rage melted away almost instantly. She looked back at Lum and Shinobu, who both gave questioning looks, before looking back at Ukyou. "What the hell are you going on about?"  
  
Ukyou pointed to her red stall. "Go inside and have a look, if you don't remember!"  
  
Ryuunosuke looked over at the Ucchan's stall nervously. She stepped up to the stall, and peered inside for a moment. Behind her, Lum and Shinobu peeked in from behind her. When they saw the big empty space where the yatai once was, they slowly backed away from the stall, eyes wide with fear.  
  
"If it was stolen during the night," Lum said, "then I got a good idea who's responsible!" She looked over at Ryuunosuke. "You have to tell her the truth, Ryuunosuke! Maybe she won’t be as mad at you if you tell her!"  
  
Shinobu looked at Lum in disbelief. "Are you _serious_?! That girl is looking to murder somebody!"  
  
"What, you think we can just run out on these people now?!" Lum said, shoving Ryuunosuke towards Ukyou. "Maybe there's a chance we can fix this! Go on, Ryuunosuke!" She waved Ryuunosuke towards Ukyou. "Try and convince her!"  
  
Ryuunosuke looked helplessly at Ukyou, who still seemed to be seething. "Look, I gotta level with ya. We didn't steal your yatai, but we got a good idea about who did!" She stood there, staring at her, as the silence dragged out. "What you did to our Hamachaya isn't gonna bring your yatai back!"  
  
Ukyou's gaze seemed to become even more vicious. "I remember the last time me and my family lost the yatai. I was about six years old." She stepped off the platform, as two of her friends followed behind her. "It was someone I deeply cared about, whose father promised to marry us. The day after our engagement was announced, they ran out on me, taking the yatai we had for a dowry. It was the biggest betrayal of my childhood!"  
  
Ukyou looked over at one of her friends, a small redhead, who was looking extremely uncomfortable, especially when Ukyou looked directly at her. But when she looked back at Ryuunosuke, her face seemed to be even more hateful. "Your father has been a constant thorn in my side. He stole everything he could from me and my father, and he would always make excuses for himself whenever he had the chance."  
  
She reached behind her to grab at the handle of her big spatula. "And you think you can come in here, charming the ladies, using your little harem or your crazy-ass jet-planes, and you think you can be any different from him?!" She pulled the spatula free, and levelled it at Ryuunosuke. "It's time that I taught you the lesson you should've had long ago!"

The edge of the spatula glinted in the morning sun, as Ukyou declared, "I'm going to give you the Kuonji Family secret recipe for pain! A special full course from hell!  
  
Ryuunosuke stared at Ukyou, not even blinking. "Did you seriously just think all of that up? How long have you been thinking up those lines?"  
  
"Shaddap, and prepare to die!" Ukyou raised her spatula high, and charged headlong towards Ryuunosuke, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Ryuunosuke leapt backwards as Ukyou swung her spatula down into the ground, the impact sending a cloud of sand upwards around it. The force of the swing so so great, Ryuunosuke could feel her hair rustling in the wake of the spatula head just missing her nose.  
  
"So we're just gonna fight now?" Ryuunosuke said, exasperated. She raised her fists up, bouncing on her toes, moving from side to side. "Just remember, you brought this on yourself!"  
  
"I said SHADDAP!" Ukyou bellowed, whirling her spatula around to swipe at Ryuunosuke once more. But once again, Ryuunosuke skipped backwards, just out of the path of her swing.  
  
"If that's all you've got," Ryuunosuke said, "then you're definitely a better cook than you are a fighter!"  
  
Ukyou snarled, and whipped her hand out, sending three glimmering little spatulas skimming through the air towards Ryuunosuke, who barely managed to dodge them. Just barely though: Ryuunosuke felt a blade score across her cheek, leaving a tiny trail of blood.  
  
"Now are you impressed?" Ukyou grinned sickly, fanning out three more throwing spatulas in her hand. "The next ones I got won't miss!"  
  
Lum's eyes widened as she saw the blood trickling down Ryuunosuke's cheek, and then hardened, her face morphing into a terrifying snarl. "Nobody hurts my friend for no good reason and gets away with it!" She rose into the air, crackling with electricity. "I'm putting an end to this, right n--urk!" She was cut off by a tiny redhead leaping up and kicking her out of the sky with a well-placed flying kick.  
  
Ranma landed on the sand in a crouch, just as Lum slammed down on her back. "I don't like hitting girls," she said, "but I ain't gonna stand by and let someone butt in on someone else's fight!"  
  
Lum snarled once more, electricity crackling between her fingers. "If you're looking for a fight, then you're really gonna get one!" She whipped her hand out, unleashing bolts of lightning straight at Ranma.  
  
Ranma's eyes widened as she saw the lightning streak out, and leapt high in the air once more, watching the electricity streak below her. As she landed, she couldn't help but notice the streaks of glass left behind in the lightning's wake.  
  
Then Ranma turned to see Lum rising up into the sky once more, lightning seeming to ooze out of her every pore. And as she took in the beautiful, terrifying sight, all she could think was, "oh boy."  
  
"Stay still, dammit!" Ukyou hollered as she sprinted after Ryuunosuke, who was running through the various stalls still standing. "Stay still, and let me kill you!" She tossed out several more throwing spatulas towards Ryuunosuke as she ran.  
  
But Ryuunosuke managed to keep dodging each spatula, the razor sharp projectiles zipping past her head and body to embed themselves into the other stalls. It was only due to Ukyou's skill that none of the spatulas actually hit a bystander; some of them came much too close, however, cutting off chunks of hair and cutting through swimsuit fabric.  
  
"Dammit!" Ukyou snarled, putting on an extra burst of speed, reaching back to draw out her spatula once more. As she got closer to Ryuunosuke, she raised her spatula up at the ready, about to brain her opponent...  
  
Before a hand grabbed the end of Ukyou's spatula and yanked it back, jerking Ukyou back with it and causing her to land hard on her bottom.  
  
"What the...?!"  
  
Ukyou turned back to see Shinobu keeping tight hold on the head of her spatula. Snarling, Ukyou yanked back on her spatula, but it was like trying to pull a screw from a block of hardened cement.  
  
"Run, Ryuunosuke-kun!" Shinobu shouted as she kept her grip on Ukyou's spatula. "Get out of here before something else goes wrong...!" She shrieked as Akane suddenly barrelled into her with a textbook Spear to the gut, knocking her into the sand.  
  
Ukyou tumbled backwards as Shinobu let go of her spatula. "Akane-chan! I owe you one!"  
  
"We can talk about it later!" Akane said, grabbing hold of Shinobu's arms to try and pin her down. "First you go get that thief, before she gets away!" She put a knee against Shinobu's chest, to help with weight. It was already obvious that the strain of keeping the other girl was getting to her. "Don't worry about me! Go!"  
  
Ukyou quickly rose to her feet, turned around, and dashed after Ryuunosuke, who was nearly halfway across the beach. She barely had a chance to look back to see Akane still trying to keep Shinobu down, as she rushed across the beach after Ryuunosuke.

Ryuunosuke, for her part, just kept running. She knew that at any moment, Ukyou would be breathing down her neck, ready to squash her underneath her ginormous spatula. She didn't want to give Ukyou the pleasure of anything like that.  
  
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed Ryuunosuke by the collar of her T-shirt, and lifted her up a foot of the ground. Her legs windmilled uselessly in the air for a moment, before she realised where she was.  
  
"Okonomiyaki?"  
  
Rei was staring at her. He had grabbed her off the sand, and was now staring at her in such a way as to make her on edge.  
  
Ryuunosuke stared at Rei for a moment, before she grabbed at Rei's arm. "Let me go, you big dumb idiot!" She swung her legs back and forth, trying to kick at the oni. "I'm gonna get killed if I stick around here any longer!"  
  
"Okonomiyaki," Rei replied, uncaring. "Extra large, okonomiyaki."  
  
"I don't have any okonomiyaki!" Ryuunosuke shouted, trying to prise Rei's fingers from her collar. "And don't ask me about making any! If I don't get out of here, there's not gonna be any okonomiyaki for you, or anybody!"  
  
Rei blinked at Ryuunosuke for a moment. "Okonomiyaki?" Then he looked over at Ukyou and Ranma, who were both racing over to them. "Okonomiyaki!"  
  
"If you want okonomiyaki," Ryuunosuke said, "then go bother those two!" She pointed towards Ukyou and Ranma, just as they stopped in front of him. "'Cause I ain't got any!"  
  
"There's not gonna be any okonomiyaki where you're going, scumbag!" Ukyou said, hefting up her spatula. "Not unless I make you into one yourself!"  
  
Rei turned to look at Ukyou for a moment. "Okonomiyaki?" He dropped Ryuunosuke onto the sand, and turned to face the brunette. "Okonomiyaki!" In one fluid motion, before Ukyou could even blink, he grabbed her hands, wresting the spatula from her hands.  
  
Ukyou blinked as Rei looked deeply into her eyes, her face turning red. "Whaddya think you're doing, buster?" She tried to pull her hands away, but the Oni-boy's grip tightened rather painfully.  
  
"Okonomiyaki," Rei repeated, still staring at Ukyou. "Extra-large okonomiyaki. With extra pork."  
  
Ukyou's eyes widened as Rei leaned in closer, and she started to struggle and yank her hands free. "You're not gonna get okonomiyaki like this, pal!"  
  
"Okonomiyaki!" Rei said, more insistently. "Extra-large okonomiyaki!" His face didn't change, even as Ukyou struggled even harder to escape.  
  
"Didn't you hear the girl?!" Ranma said angrily. "She told you to let her go!" She twisted around and delivered a hard roundhouse kick into the back of Rei's skull, hard enough to send him reeling forwards.  
  
Ukyou yanked her hands free as Rei doubled over from the impact of Ranma's kick, and quickly backed away. And then she caught sight of Rei's face as he crouched over, and shrank back even further, a look of terror crossing her face.  
  
Ryuunosuke, realising what was about to happen, quickly scrambled to her feet, and broke out running once more.  
  
Ranma blinked as Ryuunosuke dashed off, and looked over at Ukyou. "What's up with her?"  
  
"Ran-chan," Ukyou said slowly. "I think we'd better get out of here. Slowly and carefully." She backed away from Rei a little bit. "Trust me, you don't want to stick around."  
  
Ranma stared at Ukyou in confusion. "What are you talking about? He doesn't look that different to me..." She reached out and grabbed at Rei's shoulder. But she didn't expect Rei to suddenly jerk upwards, and turn to glare at her. Or that his face had contorted into an ugly scowl, his lips curled back to show sharp teeth.  
  
Ranma froze as Rei straightened, and turned to face her, a guttural yowl coming from the bottom of his throat. His body seemed to swell as his beady eyes focused fully on her, growing taller and wider by the second. His tiger-skin jumpsuit seemed to either shred away, or turn into a fur coat as he grew out, his hands and feet turning into massive paws, his face becoming much more bigger, much more bestial.  
  
Now Rei was no longer a humanoid, but a monster, towering over Ranma, looking down at her like she was was particularly annoying bug. The creature sucked in a deep breath, and emitted a scream that was somewhere between a yowl and a roar and a scream.  
  
Ranma could only stare, transfixed in horror for one terrible second. And then, all at once, she said one word.  
  
"Cat! _Cat!_ _CAT_!"

Everyone froze as Ranma's full-throated scream carried itself across the beach, and turned to stare at the tiger-cow monster currently swelling to gargantuan proportions, and the tiny redhead girl backing away in terror. As Ranma's scream faded, the creature screeched as if to reply to her, a shriek that cut to the core of every onlooker around him.

Ranma scrambled to her feet, and ran headlong across the beach, her eyes wild. As she ran, she repeated, "Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat!" like a crazed mantra. She ran through the beach stalls as the tiger-monster turned around to chase her down, causing onlookers to scatter as Ranma ran in their direction, the tiger monster always close behind.

Ukyou turned away from Ryuunosuke to charge after the tiger monster, tossing several spatulas at the monster's side. "You leave my Ranchan alone, you feline freak!" But the spatulas only seemed to bounce off the monster's body harmlessly; it didn't even blink as it chased Ranma down. Ukyou swore to herself, and sprinted faster, keeping her big spatula behind her.

Ranma was barely able to keep one step ahead of the beast, diving into a surf shop and hiding under the counter, trembling with terror. The man running it looked rather mad with her, for about all of the six minutes it took before he saw the beast charging his stall. He was barely able to get out before it smashed the canopy into the tables inside, which Ranma was huddling beneath.

Meanwhile, Ryuunosuke exchanged worried looks with Lum as Rei smashed and tore at the canopy of the surf shop, trying to get at Ranma beneath. "Should we help them out?" she asked nervously. "They might still turn on us once Rei is taken care of."

"Maybe," Lum said quietly, "but I really don't wanna wish Rei on these people. I don't think even Ran-chan would want that!" She floated higher, moving as close as she could towards the tiger-cow beast as she could. She knew from experience that she didn't want to attract Rei's attention while he was in the middle of one of his rampages.

Ryuunosuke ran towards the smashed up surf shop, grabbing a fallen piece of metal to use as a club. Even if she wasn't strong enough to take care of Rei while he was like this, she knew that she could still give him a good fight.

Rei was tearing through the canopy at shocking speed, his powerful jaws gnashing through nylon and metal like they were nothing. It only took him a couple of minutes before he smacked away all the destroyed merchandise, leaving Ranma still huddled on the floor.

As he leant closer to Ranma, Rei hissed deeply, his lips curled back to show razor-sharp white teeth.

Ranma uncurled, and looked up at Rei, her eyes strange and wide. And she meowed back.

Ukyou, Ryuunosuke and Lum backed up as Ranma leapt onto the creature like a red blur, zooming around the confused beast, before she bit down hard on the scruff of the creature's neck, and yanked him down to the ground.

Rei yowled as Ranma latched on, and twisted about in the sand to try and dislodge her. But Ranma was way too fast and agile, managing to dodge even as she held onto Rei with only her teeth. As a result, all Rei could do was struggle, while Ranma simply had to just hang on for as long as possible.

Ukyou drew out her spatula once more. "I'm gonna save you, Ranchan!" She launched herself forward, and slammed her spatula onto Rei's head, with an impact hard enough that her spatula shook like it was made of jelly, vibrating in her grip, making her bones wobble slightly. It took all of Ukyou's force of will to still hold the spatula as it shook in her hands.

Rei screamed, and swiped at Ukyou with one massive paw. Ukyou barely managed to dodge, feeling the claws zipping past her face and body. She raised up her spatula to protect herself as Rei readied himself for another swipe.

But then Rei was interrupted as a rock smacked into the side of his head. He turned to see Ryuunosuke glaring at him, carrying various rocks in her hands and a vicious scowl on her face.

"This is our fight, Rei." Ryuunosuke said, her eyes narrowing. "You better wait your turn like everyone else, or you are really gonna get hurt." She flipped a pebble in the air casually, to make a point.

Rei stared at Ryuunosuke for a good long moment, before it roared at Ryuunosuke. Loud enough to make even Ranma let go of his neck for a moment, backing up along his back.  
  
Unfortunately, Rei noticed. He swiped out and grabbed Ranma in his massive paw, and flung her out into the ocean.  
  
Ukyou's eyes bugged out as Ranma flew into the water, landing with a big splash. "Ranchan!" She slowly turned to face Ryuunosuke, her expression murderous. "That's it! No more mercy for you, jackass!"  
  
Ryuunosuke gulped as Ukyou whipped out her spatula, and barely ducked a savage swing that might have decapitated her, given the chance. At this point, she would need to quickly ditch all hope of Ukyou being more forgiving, and concentrate on fighting back.  
  
Ryuunosuke ducked and swayed around Ukyou's spatula, stepping back as Ukyou stepped forward. "I've... had... enough... of your... bullshit!" As Ukyou swung her spatula down, Ryuunosuke darted forwards and grabbed Ukyou by the shoulders. "Now you're gonna listen to me for once!"  
  
"No!" Ukyou screamed and struggled in Ryuunosuke's grip. "Let me go!"  
  
"Not until you listen to me!" Ryuunosuke shouted. "From the day you first came into the Hamachaya, I've been trying my best to be nice to you! Ever since you gave me that first okonomiyaki you made!" She shook Ukyou slightly as she went on. "I was trying to compete with you on even ground! I was trying to compete with you the way my old man never would! And you throw it all in my face, and destroy my shop!"  
  
"Liar!" Ukyou screamed, tears streaking down her face. "I'm going to kick your sorry ass off this beach if it's the last thing I do!" She jerked up her arms to strain against Ryuunosuke.  
  
"If you keep on like this," Ryuunosuke said, "it might as well be!" But then a loud yowl derailed her thoughts. She looked up just in time to see Ranma flying down towards her, hands extended out into claws.  
  
Ryuunosuke grabbed Ukyou's spatula, and raised it upwards, just in time to block Ranma's claws. However, in her rush, she let go of Ukyou; she moved aside, and slammed her foot hard into the underside of Ryuunosuke's chin.  
  
Shinobu gasped as she saw Ryuunosuke fly backwards in a perfect arc across the sand, landing in a crumpled heap in the surf. "Ryuunosuke-kun!" For a moment, all she could feel was terror as she saw her love lying dazed, her rival advancing on her with spatula at the ready. And then, the old familiar fire filled her body, and every inch of her was burning blood-red.  
  
Whereas before that moment, she was almost a ten-pound gorilla, now Akane felt more like a tiny Capuchin monkey, lifted up in Shinobu's hands so easily. All emotion and colour seemed to drain from her face as Shinobu rose from the sand, lifting her high above her head. And then, with one mighty roar, she swung Akane around her like a throwing hammer, once, twice, three, four times, before launching her clear across the beach.  
  
The only warning Ukyou got was Akane's scream as she slammed into her side, bowling her over. The two rolled across the sand, Ranma chasing after them, gleefully meowing, like they were a giant ball of yarn.  
  
Ryuunosuke rose unsteadily, her head swimming, the pain of Ukyou's kick still rattling her jaw. She felt Shinobu's arms wrapping around her, lifting her up again. "Are you alright, Ryuunosuke-kun?"  
  
Ryuunosuke grunted, shaking her head to try and regain some balance. "That girl can do one helluva kick..."  
  
Lum touched down on the sand next to Ryuunosuke, stepping in close. "I don't think we can reason with these guys anymore..." She looked over at Ukyou and Akane, quickly standing up once more, Ranma rubbing against Akane's leg. "They're not going to back down!"  
  
Katsunishiki leapt over the surf in one impressive bound, and galloped over to Ukyou's side, Akari and Konatsu mounted on his back. Within moments, the kunoichi was at Ukyou's side, helping to tend to her minor wounds, tears of shame in her eyes. Even when Ukyou waved her off, Konatsu still fretted, looking warily over at the Hamachaya group.  
  
Rei padded over to Ryuunosuke, scratched and bitten, but seemingly none the worse for wear. Ran stomped over as well, a grenade launcher gripped tight in her hands, and a small contingent of her explosive dolls swarming behind her. Nagisa sprinted over, the skirt of his yellow dress flapping behind him as he ran to his fiancee's side.  
  
Shinobu looked over at the small force gathering across the beach, and then at Ryuunosuke. "They're definitely not backing down," she said quietly. "What do we do now?"  
  
Ryuunosuke gave Shinobu one last look, her face serious. "We fight." Then she started walking towards Ukyou, hands clenching into fists. Shinobu and Nagisa followed behind her, cracking their knuckles, while Lum floated over their heads. Ran quickly climbed up onto Rei's back, and rode him alongside, while her dolls ran behind them, as fast as their little legs could go.  
  
"They're not running," Akane said quietly, turning to Ukyou. "Are we really gonna do this?"  
  
Ukyou's only response was to start running towards them, spatula raised high once more. Ranma and Akane kept up behind her, Ranma on all fours. Konatsu dashed alongside them, kunai and shuriken at the ready. Akari rode ahead of Ukyou, on Katsunishiki's back.  
  
When the two groups collided with each other, the waves crashed around them at the moment of impact, water spraying up into the air around them. Lum's lightning streaked around, while Ranma slashed and clawed at anyone within reach. Fists and feet flew, grenades exploded, dolls squealed and giggled before bursting into flame. Shinobu even managed to somehow get a hold of a school desk, and used it to club Ranma and send her flying.  
  
It was a cacophony of carnage. A symphony of destruction. It was the explosive release of all the tension brewing beneath the waves and the sands, reaching a violent climax.  
  
Konatsu fought hard for her mistress, and she fought well. But one careless swing from Rei's paw sent her flying across, slamming her into the wrecked canopy of the Hamachaya. She landed painfully on the sand, her breath knocked out of her body, her hair strewn and her makeup smeared.  
  
She rose unsteadily to her feet, brushing her hair back, but quailed as she noticed someone in front of her. The girl in the yellow dress from the Hamachaya; the one that was Fujinami's fiancee. She(he?) looked bruised and beaten, scratched and bloody; even so, Konatsu could still see the beauty in their face.  
  
Slowly, carefully, Konatsu drew out several shuriken, ready to fight once more.

The brunette noticed the shuriken in Konatsu's hand, and held out their hands. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna fight you. I've already been trampled down enough out there..." They paused for a moment, their eyes moving up and down the length of the kunoichi's body. As they looked, Konatsu couldn't help but notice their lips making the shape of an "O".  
  
Konatsu slid her shuriken away once more. "I couldn't help it. You're one of the people from the Hamachaya, aren't you? I need to stay on guard, just in case."  
  
The brunette just nodded. "I know the feeling," they said, their voice lowering to a deeper register, which made Konatsu blink in surprise. "Ryuunosuke-sama was worrying all night about how your mistress was acting yesterday."  
  
Konatsu nodded back. "I thought Ukyou-sama could put it all behind her today. But when she found her yatai was stolen, she completely lost it. And now I fear not even your mistress begging forgiveness can stop it." She gazed at the brunette with planitive eyes. "I wish I knew where the yatai had gone off to..."  
  
The brunette just smiled. "Well, everyone out there probably won't miss us taking a moment for ourselves." They extended a hand slowly to Konatsu. "In the meantime, you could tell me about how you managed to pull off such a cute outfit like that..."  
  
Konatsu gazed down at the offered hand. "But I don't even know your name..." She simpered a little, a hand over her mouth, her cheeks turning bright pink. "It seems so horribly gauche to go off like this..."  
  
The brunette just smiled wider. "I'm Shiowatari Nagisa. Will that help?"  
  
Konatsu looked up at Nagisa in surprise. And then she smiled. "I'm Konatsu. Kunoichi, Konatsu." Slowly, she reached out and took Nagisa's hand. "Pleased to meet you."  
  
Nagisa's smile was gentle as Konatsu stepped forward. "And I'm enchanted to meet you, Konatsu-chan..."  


* * *

  
Ryuunosuke couldn't think about how long the fighting had gone on. It was starting to feel like it had gone on for eternity, locked in battle against this angry brunette with a giant spatula. The absolute bottom of the slide that she had been careening down since she first met her.  
  
Ukyou didn't seem to stop, or even look like she was even slightly tired. She just kept attacking Ryuunosuke, trying to drive her body into the sands. Or she would leap over Ryuunosuke's head, sending down small spatulas as she somersaulted through the air.  
  
Sometimes, Ryuunosuke would notice the battle going on out the corners of her eyes: Shinobu wrestling with Akane, trying to stay on top; Ranma leaping about, trying to slash at Lum with clawed hands. Rei testing his strength against the giant sumo pig, while Ran dolls and grenades seem to fly around every which way.  
  
As the battle raged on, Ryuunosuke was coming to the slow realisation that she was trapped in a stalemate. And as she did so, her mind quickly seized on a desperate gamble to try and turn the game around.  
  
Surging forward, Ryuunosuke dashed under Ukyou's swing, popping up again behind her. She grabbed Ukyou roughly around the waist. "Shinobu!" Hefting the weight of her opponent, she twisted her body around to toss Ukyou straight at Shinobu.  
  
Shinobu quickly raised her head to see the toss, and instinctively yanked Akane over, shoving her hard across the sand. As the two girls collided and fell into a heap on the floor, she clenched a fist in victory. "Yes!" But when she looked at Ryuunosuke, the smile quickly disappeared. "Ryuunosuke! Behind you!"  
  
Ryuunosuke turned to see Ranma, crouched low to the ground, dashing towards her with shocking speed. Before Ryuunosuke could even react, the redhead leapt onto her, claws lashing at her body.  
  
Ryuunosuke found herself falling to the ground, grabbing Ranma's wrists to try and hold her back. But Ranma fought back, snarling and spitting as she tried to swipe at Ryuunosuke's face.  
  
Snarling, Ryuunosuke brought her legs up, and planted her feet into Ranma's midsection, hard enough to knock the wind out of her. Rolling back onto her shoulders, she kicked her legs out hard, tossing Ranma off and sending her flying into the surf once more.  
  
"RANMA!" Akane screamed, rolling to her feet quickly to charge towards Ryuunosuke. "You'll pay for that!"  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Lum shouted, sending down bolts of lightning towards Akane. But the girl was fast, way faster than Lum expected. She darted through Lum's lightning. In front of her was Ryuunosuke, struggling to get up.  
  
In one smooth motion, Akane planted a foot on Ryuunosuke's knee, just as she was kneeling. Her other foot landed hard on Ryuunosuke's shoulder. And before Lum knew it, Akane pushed off Ryuunosuke like a human springboard, soaring into the air to deliver a flying thrust kick straight into the Oni girl's face. 

As Lum toppled to the ground, Akane dashed over to Ranma, lying face down in the surf. She quickly hauled her fiancée up, and shook her roughly. “Ranma! Ranma! Are you alright?!”

Ranma squeaked as Akane shook her out. “I’m fine! I’m okay! Lemme go before you wrench my spine or something!”  
  
Ryuunosuke scrambled to her feet once more, just in time to see Ukyou getting to her feet, raising up her spatula once more. As the brunette slowly advanced, Ryuunosuke flexed her fingers, ready to get back into battle.  
  


* * *

  
From behind a fallen piece of the Hamachaya's canopy, Konatsu and Nagisa watched with worry. It was all they could do, short of joining the fight themselves again; while conversation about makeup and dresses was somewhat interesting (not to mention giving each other ideas), it got old quickly.  
  
"Nobody's gonna back down, not unless somebody dies." Nagisa chewed on his bottom lip. "And I really don't want to see that happen."  
  
Konatsu's face fell even further, tears gathering in her eyes. "If only we knew where the yatai could be," she murmured, "then we can stop this brawl and settle everything. But I don't even have a clue where it could be..."  
  
"You two ladies look rather sad!" a voice beside them called out, "How about a nice hot okonomiyaki to cheer you up?"  
  
Konatsu blinked for a moment, and then turned to see a rather creepy looking man standing beside her, pulling a wooden yatai behind them. On the side of the yatai flew a banner, on which was clearly written "Okonomiyaki Ucchan" in big white script.  
  
Nagisa blinked at the strange man. "Uncle? Isn't that the yatai from Ucchan's?" He stepped closer, eyes widening. "It is, isn't it?!"  
  
"It must be," Konatsu said, "the Ucchan's banner is still on it, and everything!"  
  
Mr. Fujinami gave the girls a cool look. "I have no idea what you two are talking about! I bought this yatai with my own money! The money that I had spent years scrimping and saving for, after my wife and child died in childbirth!"  
  
"Don't be ridiculous!" Konatsu shouted. "I can still see the name Ucchan on it, clear as day!"  
  
"That's my name you're talking about, missy!" Mr. Fujinami said angrily, pointing a thumb at his chest. "I’m Fujinami Ucchan!"  
  
Konatsu looked towards Nagisa, who shook his head frantically.   
  
"That is definitely not his name!"  
  
"And who are you?!" Mr. Fujinami said. "I've never seen you before in my life!" 

Nagisa’s jaw dropped for a moment, before he quickly stepped up into Mr. Fujinami’s face. “Who am I?! I’m your daughter’s fiance! The only son of your best friend! The son of the Shiowatari family, with which you made a sacred bond!”

“Never heard of you in my life!” Mr. Fujinami said. “I’m not going to sit around here and endure the prattling of empty-headed girlies like you!” He turned the yatai smartly around, and begun to wheel it away.

Nagisa stared at Mr. Fujinami in silence for a long moment. In the next moment, he darted forward and leapt onto the back of the yatai, grabbing onto it and screaming in his highest, most feminine voice, “HELP! HELP, THIEF! HELP ME!”

Konatsu quickly caught on, and turned towards the still ongoing brawl. “UKYOU-SAMA! I’VE FOUND YOUR YATAI!” She pointed towards Mr. Fujinami. “THIS OLD MAN HERE IS TRYING TO STEAL IT FROM YOU!”

The brawl quickly stopped as Nagisa and Konatsu’s voices rang out across the beach. Mr. Fujinami froze as every pair of eyes on the beach turned to look directly at him.

Mr. Fujinami broke into a dead sprint across the sand, wheeling the yatai behind him at shocking speed. Nagisa clung onto the back of the cart for his dear second life, legs trailing behind him as the cart rattled down. Konatsu dashed up behind the cart, drawing out a short sword from her sarong.

For one brief moment, everyone all exchanged looks at one another as Mr. Fujinami fled, before they dashed off after him. As they ran, several gutsy beachgoers quickly joined the chase, forming a small mob behind the girls. Eventually, it looked like half of the beach was mobbing up behind the small group of girls, even carrying pitchforks and burning torches as they charged after the old man dragging the yatai behind him.

Mr. Fujinami kept running with remarkable speed, not even slowing down, easily keeping ahead of the mob. With one hand, he grabbed a pot full of aonori and yanked off the top before flinging its contents out behind him in a billowing green cloud. After that, he flung out boxes of bonito flakes, packets of flour that exploded into dense clouds of white, bits of chopped green onion and tempura bits strewn across the sand.  
  
Ryuunosuke and Ukyou weaved through the splatters of food, managing to get past them without little more than a fine dusting of flour on their clothes. Ryuunosuke ducked under a metal box that nearly nailed her head, which actually nailed the head of a hapless beachgoer.  
  
Ukyou snarled as she put on an extra burst of speed. She hated seeing food go to waste, especially when it was her food. The only good thing about that was that the old man didn't find her gunpowder-laced tempura flakes... at least until she noticed Mr. Fujinami lifting out the distinctive red-topped jar in his hand.  
  
"Oh shit!" Ukyou said, her eyes widening. "Move faster!" She strained her muscles to move faster as she saw the large jar fly into the air, tempura flakes spilling out. She could barely see Ryuunosuke running to catch up, pulling ahead of the pack, followed by a couple of others.  
  
Then the tempura flakes landed on the mob, and everything was drowned out by a cacophony of bang and crackle as the flakes exploded into bright flames of destruction. The mob collapsed behind them into a pile of bodies, singed and smoking but still alive, as the others kept the pursuit going.  
  
Mr. Fujinami face creased as the small posse gained on him, still led by his own ~~daug~~ _son_ , and the girl who was practically his blood rival just a few minutes ago. The sight of his child turning on him once more was enough to make him despair. He glared at Nagisa, still clinging tightly to the back of the yatai.  
  
"This is all your fault!" He snarled. "If you had just kept your mouth shut, we wouldn't be in this situation! Your father would be ashamed to see you betray your future father in-law this way!"  
  
"My fault?!" Nagisa shouted. "We wouldn't be?! I'm trying to stop you, here! If it wasn't for you stealing this yatai, none of this would have happened!"  
  
Mr. Fujinami's face went purple. "You dare defy me too?!" He pulled out a broom, his face erupting into rage. "Then fall, like all the others!"  
  
Nagisa shrieked as Mr. Fujinami whipped him hard across the face. Hard enough that he lost his grip on the yatai and tumbled off, landing hard on the sand. He rose up unsteadily, his face creased with rage. "I'm really gonna make you pay for that, you gross old man!"  
  
Konatsu quickly broke from the pursuit to run to Nagisa's side, while Ukyou and Ryuunosuke ran on, still steadily gaining on the stolen yatai. In front of them loomed a massive outcropping of rocks, marking the edge of the beach, where hardly any of the regular tourists ever came near.  
  
As Mr. Fujinami approached the rocks, he leapt high into the air, lifting the yatai along with him, to land on top of the largest rock. Behind him, Ryuunosuke and Ukyou landed, having leapt up from the sand after him. Lum hovered over the gathering of rocks, keeping watch over the two girls as they clambered across the rocks.  
  
Both girls paused as they caught sight of what greeted them atop the rocks: a rickety old beachside stall that was slapped together out of driftwood and metal sidings. The sight was especially familiar to Ryuunosuke, as it was the same old shack that she had spent the majority of her life in before Tomobiki High; her father's old Hamachaya.  
  
And on the roof hung a white banner, with the legend written in bright red: _Shin-Hamachaya_. Or, the True Hamachaya, as the kanji would put it.  
  
Ukyou stared at the rickety shack. "A stall? Out here?! Who would even come to a place like this?"  
  
"He must've moved out here when the Mendous kicked him out," Ryuunosuke said. "It ain't the first time he's set up shop in a place like this." She looked over at Ukyou. "I bet he's gonna be waiting for us in there."  
  
"Of course," Ukyou said, holding her trusty big spatula at the ready. "Let's go in and beat the hell out of him!"  
  
As one, the two girls barged their way into the shack. But neither of them were prepared for the sight that was inside: inside the shack was a massive hoard of various stuff, stuff that both girls easily recognised. There was the cooler full of food that Mendou had airdropped in the day before. Stacked atop it was an electric rice cooker, several large serving dishes, a crate full of crockery, cans of curry powder and garam masala, freezer bags full of chicken and beef, crates of beer and soda, and even another gas-fired griddle. Next to the pile stood a small pile of propane canisters of varying sizes, the largest seeming big enough to heat a bath every night for a year. And standing just behind all of that sat Ukyou's stolen yatai, still standing, though the banner was ragged and torn.  
  
Ryuunosuke blinked at the sight, stepping towards the pile. Slowly, she looked over at the rice cooker. "So that's where the damn thing had gone..." She turned towards Ukyou. "So now do you believe me? It's not just you that he's been stealing from!"  
  
Ukyou stared at Ryuunosuke for a long while. "So that means you weren't trying to sabotage my business?" She asked, in a soft voice that Ryuunosuke hadn't heard before.  
  
Ryuunosuke nodded. "I never even wanted to do anything like that. If I was gonna beat you, then I was gonna do it on even ground. I ain't no liar or a cheat like my old man is!"  
  
The cooler suddenly burst open as Mr. Fujinami sprang out. " _RYUUNOSUKE_! How dare you insult your father?!" As he descended on Ryuunosuke, he swung his fist out into a savage haymaker that would knock out a rampaging boar.  
  
In one fluid motion, Ryuunosuke ducked under her father's punch, and spun around to sweep her leg into the back of his, knocking his feet out from under him just as he landed. "Shut your stupid mouth!" Mr. Fujinami was sent tumbling to ground, rolling back towards the pile. But as Ryuunosuke moved in, Mr. Fujinami sprang up and backwards on his shoulders, leaping up on top of the pile with an elegance that would make an Olympic gymnast sick with envy.  
  
"Aren't you even impressed with my handiwork, Ryuunosuke?" The old man said, grabbing a bag of shredded lettuce as he danced atop the pile, like some strange oversized bird. "This is only part of the path of the True Hamachaya! The willingness to do anything to succeed, regardless of legality, empathy or common decency!"  
  
"Is that all that this is about?!" Ryuunosuke asked, the rage boiling up inside her. "All that crap you gave me while I was sleeping that night, you stealing all this food, stealing her yatai, playing us off against each other! This is all because I won't dance to your shitty little tune!"  
  
She stepped forward, pointing a finger at her father. "You wanna know why Mendou banned you from this beach? It's because they seen how you run your Hamachaya. And they remember all the times you dragged me out onto the beach!" She took another step closer. "And you know what they think? They think that _YOU FUCKING SUCK!_ "  
  
Mr. Fujinami froze, eyes wide.  
  
"You _suck_ at running a teashop!" Ryuunosuke went on, her face growing redder. "You’ve _always_ sucked at running a teashop! And you _know_ you suck at it, too! You're just too goddamn stupid or proud to ever admit it! That's why you've done all of this, isn't it?! Because you're nothing but a useless, cheap, two-bit piece of _shit_!"  
  
Ukyou and Mr. Fujinami stared at Ryuunosuke in silence, as she bowed her head, panting, trying to get her breath back. Her fists were clenched so hard that her knuckles were pale white.  
  
Slowly, Ukyou stepped over to Ryuunosuke, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I think you've gone far enough, sugar." Her voice was soft and gentle, a far cry from the tone she took earlier. “He looks like he’s got the message.”  
  
"Ryuunosuke..." Mr Fujinami said quietly. For once, his expression was still and silent. He slowly stepped off the pile of stolen things, approaching the two girls. "Do you really, honestly, mean everything you just said?"  
  
Ryuunosuke raised her head, and gazed at the face of her father. "Every word."  
  
Mr. Fujinami lowered his head quietly. Under his breath, he murmured something.  
  
"What was that?" Ryuunosuke leaned forward slightly, closer to her father. "Say that again...?"  
  
The next moment, Ryuunosuke and Ukyou barely managed to avoid the head of a large mallet coming down on them, smashing into the wooden floor of the True Hamachaya. The floorboards cracked and splintered as the mallet broke through, leaving a massive hole where the two girls once stood. Ukyou flailed as she tried to keep her balance, her arms windmilling up and down. She quickly stabbed her spatula into the floor to keep herself from falling over.  
  
Mr. Fujinami smirked as Ryuunosuke turned to face him, her angry glare returning full force. "That was impressive, Ryuunosuke. But you shouldn't take your frustrations out on your father! Not when that okonomiyaki bitch is still standing!"  
  
Ukyou's lips curled back into a snarl. Quickly, she hefted up her spatula, and swung it with all her strength into the back of Mr. Fujinami's head. " _This_ okonomiyaki bitch is gonna teach _you_ a lesson in manners!"  
  
Mr. Fujinami's head jerked forwards with the force of Ukyou's blow, right into Ryuunosuke's heel crashing into his nose. As he flew backwards, Ukyou spun around and slammed her spatula into his face, smashing his body into the pile of propane canisters.  
  
Mr. Fujinami rolled back to his feet, gripping one of the propane canisters like a massive club. "You've misunderestimated the Fujinami way, Ryuunosuke! You're still too noble, too naive to truly be worthy of the family name!" He pointed behind him, in the direction of the stolen yatai. "That's why I'll never give this up to you! My very manhood rests on this little wooden cart!" He turned towards the yatai…  
  
Or rather, the empty space where the yatai was standing just a moment ago. Outside, Nagisa hauled the yatai out of the Hamachaya on his shoulders, leaping off the rocks to land safely on the sands below. As he placed the yatai down gently, the others gathered around it in case Mr. Fujinami came out first.   
  
Mr. Fujinami stared dumbly at the empty space, completely stock still. Behind him, Ryuunosuke and Ukyou gave him identical looks of contempt.  
  
"Well, bucko, there's your manhood gone with the wind." Ukyou gripped her spatula tightly. "So it looks like you're on your own now. What you got to say about that?"  
  
Mr. Fujinami didn't say anything. He just launched himself at Ukyou, swinging the canister at her head. She barely managed to block in time, the canister quickly bouncing off her spatula. But as she staggered back from the force of the blow, he turned around to swing it at her unprotected side.  
  
Ukyou quickly ducked, the propane canister sweeping over her head to slam into a wooden pillar. The canister vibrated from the impact, and tumbled to the floor as the vibrations travelled into Mr. Fujinami, making him stumble backwards.  
  
Ryuunosuke dashed in from behind and grabbed her father tightly around the waist. She crouched low as Mr. Fujinami leaned backwards, and lifted him up, high into the air, before falling backwards, driving him back and headfirst into the floorboards.  
  
Ryuunosuke heaved a sigh, rolling away from her father's prone body. Then she scrambled back as Ukyou slammed her spatula into his body, again and again, pounding him into the floorboards.  
  
"This is for tricking me!" Ukyou shouted as she hit him. "And this is for tricking your daughter!" And again. "And this is for stealing my yatai!" And again. "And this is for that creepy shit you did to your daughter while she was sleeping!" And again.  
  
Ryuunosuke dragged herself wearily to her feet as Ukyou continued to pound her spatula down on her father. She had been imagining such a situation in her head for so long that she couldn't remember when she didn't; now that she was seeing it with her own two eyes, it didn't seem as satisfying as it once was.  
  
And that insistent hissing sound didn't help any. Come to think of it, where was that sound coming from?  
  
Ryuunosuke looked around the Hamachaya as Ukyou continued to pound on her father, searching for the source of the sound. Slowly, her eyes fell on the dropped canister of propane: the valve had broken off during the battle, and gas was quickly escaping from the top, and slowly filling the room.  
  
Ryuunosuke stared at the leaking canister, a cold chill running up her spine. She quickly rose to her feet, and dashed to Ukyou's side. "Hey, we gotta get out of here! This whole place is filling up with gas!"  
  
"Not until I've flattened this asshole out like a pizza!" Ukyou shouted, pounding Mr. Fujinami down a couple more times.  
  
"We ain't got the time!" Ryuunosuke shouted, grabbing Ukyou around the waist and lifting her up. She hefted Ukyou up into a bridal carry as she turned and sprinted out of the True Hamachaya, just as the gas reached higher.  
  
As Ryuunosuke ran out into the sunlight once more, she heard a faint voice coming closer, calling out her name. "Ryuu-chan! Ryuu-chan!" She looked up to see one of Ran's dolls flying towards her, arms outstretched. "Hiii, Ryuu-chan!"  
  
Ryuunosuke, remembering what Ran's dolls were capable of, put on an extra burst of speed, dashing to the edge of the rock. As the doll passed over her head, she heard it trill "Byeee, Ryuu-chan!" as it dove into the True Hamachaya.  
  
Mr. Fujinami was in the middle of slowly peeling himself off the floorboards when the doll landed in his lap. He slowly picked the doll up, looking down at it with a curious expression on his face.  
  
"Hi there!" The doll said.  
  
"Hello," Mr. Fujinami said, "welcome to my humble Hamachaya."  
  
"Thank you!" The doll replied. "I'm gonna self-destruct now, 'kay?"  
  
"Okay," Mr. Fujinami said, slightly woozy from the propane gas that filled the shack. "Thank you very much."  
  
The doll just giggled, and then exploded into flame and fire.  
  
Ryuunosuke barely made it to the edge of the rock before the True Hamachaya exploded behind her, the concussive force of heat and air knocking her off her feet and sending her flying through the air, hot fire licking at her heels. As she fell to the sands below, Ryuunosuke gripped Ukyou tightly to her chest, and twisted through the air as quickly as she could.  
  
She slammed into the sands back first, Ukyou landing roughly on top of her, knocking the air out from her body. The two lay there, not moving, as everyone else rushed up to them.  
  
"Ryuunosuke-kun!" Shinobu shouted, falling to her knees at the girls' side. She grabbed Ryuunosuke by the shoulders, lifting her head up to meet her. "Are you alright?! Please, speak to me!"  
  
"Is the yatai safe?" Ryuunosuke said, her voice rougher than sandpaper.  
  
"It's alright!" Shinobu said quickly. "Nagisa carried it out while you were fighting in there!"  
  
Ryuunosuke rose up painfully, wrapping an arm around Shinobu for support. Over in the distance, she could see the stolen yatai, with Nagisa and Konatsu standing beside it. She gave the two a shaky grin, before resting against Shinobu once more.

Ukyou shifted a little to let Ryuunosuke rise up, but wrapped her arm around her shoulders gently. “Don’t strain yourself, sugar. You’ve already gone through enough this morning.” She turned to see Konatsu and Nagisa rush over, and gave them a shaky smile. “Hey there, you. Thanks for getting the yatai out of there.”

Konatsu wrapped her arms around Ukyou, hugging her tightly. “Thank goodness you’re safe! I thought the worst might happen when Ran tossed that doll in there!”  
  
Lum rose up into the air once more, a look of worry on her face. "Ryuunosuke's father must still be in there! We need to save him!" Before anyone could protest, she drew out a small silver whistle from her cleavage, put it to her lips, and blew hard. Everyone below covered their ears as an ear-piercingly shrill note filled the air.  
  
"What are you even doing?!" Ranma shouted, pointing at the fire. "There ain't nobody around here who can put out a blaze that big!" She turned to look at the fire on the rocks... And her eyes bugged out, her finger drooping down.  
  
A massive tidal wave rose from the sea, dwarfing the tall rocks beneath it, casting a long shadow over the hapless people below.  
  
"Hit the deck!" Ukyou shouted, grabbing Konatsu and pushing Ryuunosuke and Shinobu over to brace for the worst.

Above them, the wave crested and descended onto the blazing wreckage of the Formerly-True Hamachaya, drowning the flame in an endless torrent of water. The water spilled down onto the sands below, sending pieces of wood and metal washing down. It was only by some strange divine providence that the water managed to stop only a couple of feet away from the small group, before receding back.  
  
As the water receded away, a distant voice called out: "Lum-chan!"  
  
Everyone backed away slightly as a woman alighted onto the sand in front of them, dragging a burnt and blackened body behind him. She cut an impressive figure, tall and strong, with short and curly green hair held back with a red hairband. From the sides of her head, a pair of small yellow horns poked out. The woman wore a black jumpsuit lined with blue, with armoured panels on the chest and arms that had the customary yellow with black tiger-stripe patterns of the Oni. In her other hand, she held the traditional standard of a fire-fighter of old.  
  
"Good thing you called me, Lum-chan!" The woman said. "That was quite a blaze there!  
  
Lum swooped down and hugged the woman tightly. "Auntie! You came and saved us!"  
  
"Of course," Auntie replied. "It's my duty as a fire-fighter to respond to any emergency, no matter the place!" She lifted up the charred body of Mr. Fujinami, somewhat dazed, but still alive. "I even managed to get a hold of your arsonist here! How appropriate that he would be destroyed by his own fire!" The look on the woman's face turned savage as she looked down at Mr. Fujinami. "You don't need to worry about him, Lum-chan! The punishment he'll suffer would be three times as painful as what he's already gone through!"  
  
Lum's eyes widened for a moment. "Auntie, you can't! That man..." Then she trailed off. And she looked over at Ryuunosuke and Ukyou, with a questioning look on her face.  
  
Ryuunosuke only stared at Lum for a moment, before shrugging in resignation, and looking away.  
  
Ukyou just glared at Mr. Fujinami like he was a particularly ugly cockroach.  
  
Lum turned back to Auntie, a more serious look on her face. "Don't worry, Auntie. I think that man deserves everything that'll happen to him."  
  
Auntie just smiled. "That's alright, Lum-chan." She rose up into the air, holding on to Mr. Fujinami's collar. "Tell Ten-chan that mommy sends her love!" Then she rose higher, flying off into the distance, carrying the charred Mr. Fujinami away with her.  
  
"Hey, Lum..." Ukyou asked quietly.  
  
Lum blinked, and turned towards Ukyou. "What is it?"  
  
Ukyou got to her feet, brushing sand off her swimsuit. "Are you guys gonna be looking for something to eat? I think it’s getting pretty close to lunchtime now."

The others looked amongst themselves for a moment, before quickly getting to their feet. Ukyou smiled, and limped over to the push-bar of her yatai, wheeling the wooden cart back across the beach.  
  


* * *

  
When everyone arrived back at the beach stalls, the remains of the Hamachaya were being cleared away by a large cadre of Mendou’s _kuromegane_ servants. Around them stood a scattered array of curious onlookers, wondering just what had happened. None of them seemed to acknowledge the group as they passed by, filing into Ucchan’s. However, both Shutarou and Ryoko Mendou were waiting inside, sat at a table. 

Ukyou quietly rolled the yatai back to its pride of place at the rear of the stall. “Whatever it is you’re gonna tell me, I don’t need to hear it. I’ve been through hell this morning, and I don’t need any more stress right now.”

Shutarou rose up to say something, only for his sister to cut him off. ”Oh, we know all about what happened this morning, Miss Kuonji. Our servants have been discreetly observing what happened since you first arrived here this morning.” She smiled at Ukyou stared at her in shock. “You certainly are an interesting person, you know. You, and all your friends. I haven’t had this much fun in weeks.”

Shutarou cleared his throat loudly, then fixed Ukyou with a hard gaze. “We’re going to overlook all of this, since you have obviously resolved your differences, along with managing to get rid of that menace Fujinami.”

“Then you better order something,” Ukyou gave the Mendou siblings a polite smile. “If not, could you please leave? Both of you?”

Shutarou recoiled like he had been shot, while Ryoko’s smile strained imperceptibly. Slowly, Ryoko rose to stand next to her brother, and led him out of Ucchan’s by the arm.

“Ryoko?” Shutarou stared at his sister, confusion written across his face.

“Just leave her be,” Ryoko said quietly. “I think we’ve still got to oversee clearing out that rubble next door.’” She tugged more insistently at her brother’s arm. “Come on, we’ll settle this later.”

As the Mendous left the stall, Ryuunosuke and Shinobu sat at one of the tables at the back, closest to the yatai. Several of the tables had been marked out with small cards, on which the English word RESERVED was written in black marker. Ukyou and Konatsu had singled them out for their former rivals to use, so they could stay without bothering the guests.

Ryuunosuke gazed out the open window, to the waves beyond. Even after such a vicious brawl, Ryuunosuke couldn’t help but notice how calm the waves were. Somehow, the sight of those waves washed all of the anguish from her, leaving her empty, but at peace.

“So,” Shinobu said quietly, “what are you planning on doing now? Mendou-san said that he was going to rebuild the Hamachaya for you, so you could get back in business as soon as possible. Now that Ukyou-san doesn’t hate you anymore, you could start fresh once more.”

“I guess,” Ryuunosuke replied. “But I just don’t feel like it right now. When I was fighting with my old man, I realised something. The Hamachaya was never really something I was really looking forward to, even if I could make it better than his.” She looked over at Ukyou, pouring a fresh batch of okonomiyaki onto the griddle. “I could never be like Ku---Ukyou.” She paused for a moment. “I could never be as dedicated and as driven as she is for her business. That was never something I wanted.”

“I kind of figured that,” Shinobu said, a light smile on her face. “But that means you can finally do what you want to do! You don’t have to please your father or anyone else!”

“Not even the sea?” Ryuunosuke asked, a rueful tone in her voice.

Shinobu just giggled. “Especially the sea!”

At that moment, Ukyou came to their table, several plates of okonomiyaki in her hands. “Hey guys, I brought you some food!” She placed two platefuls of Kurobuta Okonomiyaki in front of Ryuunosuke and Shinobu. “Don’t worry ‘bout payment, it’s on the house. A little something to make up for the past couple of days.”

“Thanks,” Ryuunosuke said nervously. “You’re gonna let all that with the yatai and everything else slide, then?”

“Well, yeah.” Ukyou gave Ryuunosuke a bright smile. “Since you did say that my okonomiyaki was better and all.” She blushed slightly. “I gotta admit, though… For somebody not from Hiroshima, you’re still pretty good. If you used your own sauce instead of the regular ol’ Otafuku, I bet you’d be even better.”

“Well, I guess there’s always room for improvement.” Ryuunosuke grinned at Ukyou. “Since you already set the bar so high and all.”

“So I guess you’re gonna go all in on okonomiyaki, then?” Shinobu asked, sipping on her melon float. “I thought you were quitting on the Hamachaya business.”

Ukyou smirked, and slid her fingers underneath Shinobu’s chin. “And I didn’t know you had such a pretty girlfriend, Ryuu-chan…” She gave Shinobu a dazzling smile. “You must’ve brought in loads of boys by yourself, didn’t you?”

Ryuunosuke blinked in surprise, especially when Shinobu’s face turned bright red.

“Oh no!” Shinobu squealed, a giddy smile on her face. “I could never do that, really! I’m just a humble young lady!” She giggled airily, hiding her hands behind her face. “Oh no, whatever am I going to do?!”

“Steady on, Shinobu!” Ryuunosuke said warily. “Don’t go and blow your top over her…”

“Ukyou-sama, please don’t tease our customers like that…” Konatsu said, quickly popping up beside Ryuunosuke. “Especially if they’ve been your rivals for so long!”

Ryuunosuke grinned, and took Konatsu’s hand gently, leaning back in her chair. “It’s okay, Konatsu-chan.” She gave the kunoichi a patented “girl magnet” look. “Ucchan knows that she’s just playin’ right?” She squeezed Konatsu’s hand gently. “You gettin’ jealous or something?”

Konatsu’s eyes widened, and a brilliant red flush across her cheeks. “W-what? Me?” She stood there, stock still for a moment. “I… I, uhm… I…”

The next moment, Ryuunosuke was holding onto a log, which clattered down beside her, while Konatsu dashed out of the stall. “Please excuse me!” The kunoichi yelled as she sprinted away, her voice fading into the distance.

Ukyou snorted, giving Ryuunosuke a smile. “Well, it looks like you haven’t lost your competitive spirit any, Ryuu-chan. “Anytime you’re ready, you can come challenge me on my turf.” She reached out to ruffle Ryuunosuke’s hair gently. “Just be careful, sugar. I don’t usually play fair like you do.”

Ryuunosuke just smirked at Ukyou. “I’ll be seeing you again someday. You can count on that.”  
  


* * *

**the end**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s another UY fanfic done and dusted. And my second Ranma fic, as well as my first crossover! I’m feeling real good about my writing now.
> 
> This last chapter has hit a couple of serious hurdles, the latest of which (at the time of writing this) being me screwing up a Windows Update and pretty much wrecking my install, which means my computer is out of action for days, possibly even weeks. That, and all the constant rewrites and worry about how it’s going to turn out has made it a stressful affair, too. But now that I’ve put this baby out, I can hopefully keep at it. It feels so strange, looking at your own past work, and seeing how your prose looked only a couple of years before.
> 
> As for the content itself, it’s the usual manner of me writing my favourite things, and putting them all together in a heady cocktail. Or in this case, an okonomiyaki. I think I even threw in some references and moves from professional wrestling in there, just to add some extra flavour.
> 
> I’ve got some other ideas in the works that I want to play with, so I should probably just end this by thanking each and every one of you people who are reading this right now. Maybe you could leave me a comment or something?


End file.
